Isaac Newton's Natural Philosophy

Newton studies have undergone radical changes in the last half-century as more of hiswork has been uncovered and more details of his life and intellectual context have come to light.This volume singles out two strands in recent Newton studies: the intellectual background toNewton's scientific thought and both specific and general aspects of his technical science. Theessays make new claims concerning Newton's mathematical methods, experimental investigations, andmotivations, as well as the effect that his long presence had on science in England.The book isdivided into two parts. The essays in part I shed new light on Newton's motivations and the sourcesof his method. The essays in part II explore Newton's mathematical philosophy and his development ofrational mechanics and celestial dynamics. An appendix includes the last paper by Newton biographerRichard W. Westfall, examining some of the ways that mathematics came to be used in the age ofNewton in pursuits and domains other than theoretical or rational mechanics.

Jed Z. Buchwald is Director of the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology and Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.