I argue for an interpretation of Euclid’s postulates as principles grounding the science of measurement. Euclid’s Elements can then be viewed as an application of these basic principles of measurement to what I call general measurements—that is, metric comparisons between objects that are only partially specified. As a consequence, rather than being viewed as a tool for the production of certainty, mathematical proof can then be interpreted as the tool with which such general measurements are performed. This gives, I argue, a more satisfying story of the origin of proof in Ancient Greece, and of the status of Euclid’s postulates.

中文翻译：

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论欧几里得与证明谱系

我主张将欧几里得的公设解释为作为测量科学基础的原则。然后，欧几里得元素可以被视为这些基本测量原理在我所谓的一般测量中的应用——即仅部分指定的对象之间的度量比较。因此，数学证明不是被视为产生确定性的工具，而是可以被解释为执行这种一般测量的工具。我认为，这为古希腊证明的起源以及欧几里得公设的地位提供了一个更令人满意的故事。