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Recurrent questions about space have dogged philosophers since
ancient times. Can an ordinary person draw from his or her
perceptions to say what space is? Or is it rather a technical
concept that is only within the grasp of experts? Can geometry
characterize the world in which we live? What is God's relation to
space? In Ancient Greece, Euclid set out to define space by
devising a codified set of axioms and associated theorems that were
then passed down for centuries, thought by many philosophers to be
the only sensible way of trying to fathom space. Centuries later,
when Newton transformed the 'natural philosophy' of the seventeenth
century into the physics of the eighteenth century, he placed the
mathematical analysis of space, time, and motion at the center of
his work. When Kant began to explore modern notions of 'idealism'
and 'realism,' space played a central role. But the study of space
was transformed forever when, in 1915, Einstein published his
general theory of relativity, explaining that the world is not
Euclidean after all. This volume chronicles the development of
philosophical conceptions of space from early antiquity through the
medieval period to the early modern era. The chapters describe the
interactions at different moments in history between philosophy and
various other disciplines, especially geometry, optics, and natural
science more generally. Fascinating central figures from the
history of mathematics, science and philosophy are discussed,
including Euclid, Plato, Aristotle, Proclus, Ibn al-Haytham, Nicole
Oresme, Kepler, Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, Berkeley, and Kant. As
with other books in the series, shorter essays, or Reflections,
enrich the volume by characterizing perspectives on space found in
various disciplines including ecology, mathematics, sculpture,
neuroscience, cultural geography, art history, and the history of
science.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) left a voluminous legacy of writings.
Despite his influence on the early modern period, his
correspondence, manuscripts, and publications in natural philosophy
remain scattered throughout many disparate editions. In this
volume, Newton's principal philosophical writings, including
excerpts from the Principia and the Opticks and a corrected
translation of 'De Gravitatione', are collected in a single place.
This newly expanded second edition of Philosophical Writings
contains new excerpts from Newton's earliest optical writings, some
of his unpublished reflections on the interpretation of Scriptural
passages that concern the Earth's motion, and his correspondence
with important figures in his day, including the theologian Richard
Bentley, the mathematician Roger Cotes, and the philosopher G. W.
Leibniz. The excerpts show in depth how Newton developed a number
of highly controversial views concerning space, time, motion and
matter and then defended them against the withering criticisms of
his contemporaries.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) left a voluminous legacy of writings.
Despite his influence on the early modern period, his
correspondence, manuscripts, and publications in natural philosophy
remain scattered throughout many disparate editions. In this
volume, Newton's principal philosophical writings, including
excerpts from the Principia and the Opticks and a corrected
translation of 'De Gravitatione', are collected in a single place.
This newly expanded second edition of Philosophical Writings
contains new excerpts from Newton's earliest optical writings, some
of his unpublished reflections on the interpretation of Scriptural
passages that concern the Earth's motion, and his correspondence
with important figures in his day, including the theologian Richard
Bentley, the mathematician Roger Cotes, and the philosopher G. W.
Leibniz. The excerpts show in depth how Newton developed a number
of highly controversial views concerning space, time, motion and
matter and then defended them against the withering criticisms of
his contemporaries.
This collection of specially commissioned essays by leading
scholars presents research on Isaac Newton and his main
philosophical interlocutors and critics. The essays analyze
Newton's relation to his contemporaries, especially Barrow,
Descartes, Leibniz and Locke and discuss the ways in which a broad
range of figures, including Hume, Maclaurin, Maupertuis and Kant,
reacted to his thought. The wide range of topics discussed includes
the laws of nature, the notion of force, the relation of
mathematics to nature, Newton's argument for universal gravitation,
his attitude toward philosophical empiricism, his use of
'fluxions', his approach toward measurement problems and his
concept of absolute motion, together with new interpretations of
Newton's matter theory. The volume concludes with an extended essay
that analyzes the changes in physics wrought by Newton's Principia.
A substantial introduction and bibliography provide essential
reference guides.
Newton's philosophical views are unique and uniquely difficult to
categorise. In the course of a long career from the early 1670s
until his death in 1727, he articulated profound responses to
Cartesian natural philosophy and to the prevailing mechanical
philosophy of his day. Newton as Philosopher presents Newton as an
original and sophisticated contributor to natural philosophy, one
who engaged with the principal ideas of his most important
predecessor, Rene Descartes, and of his most influential critic, G.
W. Leibniz. Unlike Descartes and Leibniz, Newton was systematic and
philosophical without presenting a philosophical system, but over
the course of his life, he developed a novel picture of nature, our
place within it, and its relation to the creator. This rich
treatment of his philosophical ideas will be of wide interest to
historians of philosophy, science, and ideas.
Newton's philosophical views are unique and uniquely difficult to
categorise. In the course of a long career from the early 1670s
until his death in 1727, he articulated profound responses to
Cartesian natural philosophy and to the prevailing mechanical
philosophy of his day. Newton as Philosopher presents Newton as an
original and sophisticated contributor to natural philosophy, one
who engaged with the principal ideas of his most important
predecessor, Rene Descartes, and of his most influential critic, G.
W. Leibniz. Unlike Descartes and Leibniz, Newton was systematic and
philosophical without presenting a philosophical system, but over
the course of his life, he developed a novel picture of nature, our
place within it, and its relation to the creator. This rich
treatment of his philosophical ideas, the first in English for
thirty years, will be of wide interest to historians of philosophy,
science, and ideas.
This collection of specially-commissioned essays by leading
scholars presents new research on Isaac Newton and his main
philosophical interlocutors and critics. The essays analyze
Newton's relation to his contemporaries, especially Barrow,
Descartes, Leibniz and Locke, and discuss the ways in which a broad
range of figures, including Hume, Maclaurin, Maupertuis, and Kant,
reacted to his thought. The wide range of topics discussed includes
the laws of nature, the notion of force, the relation of
mathematics to nature, Newton's argument for universal gravitation,
his attitude toward philosophical empiricism, his use of fluxions,
his approach toward measurement problems, and his concept of
absolute motion, together with new interpretations of Newton's
matter theory. The volume concludes with an extended essay that
analyzes the changes in physics wrought by Newton's Principia. A
substantial introduction and bibliography provide essential
reference guides.
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