Re: [HM] The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra

Martin Davis (martind@cs.berkeley.edu)
Tue, 3 Nov 1998 10:34:17 -0800

At 11:44 AM 11/3/98 -0500, Samuel S. Kutler wrote:

> Is it possible to prove the fundamental theorem of
> algebra strictly algebraically, with no element of analysis?
>

Because of the very statement, analysis can't be entirely eliminated. I
recall a proof in MacDuffee's algebra textbook (circa ~1945) that comes
pretty close. The irreducible piece of analysis (if I remember correctly
half a century later) is the theorem that a polynomial of odd degree with
real coefficients has a real root.

Martin Davis