Newton as philosopher / Andrew Janiak.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Janiak, Andrew, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727--Philosophy.

Newton, Isaac.

Philosophy of nature--History--17th century.

Philosophy of nature.

Philosophy of nature--History--18th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 196 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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, René 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.

Contents:

Newton as philosopher, the very idea

Physics and metaphysics : three interpretations

Do forces exist? : contesting the mechanical philosophy, I

Matter and mechanism : contesting the mechanical philosophy, II

Space in physics and metaphysics contra Descartes

God and natural philosophy.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-189) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-17812-6

1-281-75137-5

9786611751371

0-511-41472-2

0-511-48151-9

0-511-41540-0

0-511-41312-2

0-511-41218-5

0-511-41404-8

OCLC:

476173602