Steffen Ducheyne
Biographic Data
| ID | 459855 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Steffen Ducheyne |
| GIVEN NAMES | Steffen |
| FAMILY NAME | Ducheyne |
| SIGNATURE | DUCHEYNE S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Vrije Universiteit Brussel |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2694-3819 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 28 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 24 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Nicolas Hartsoeker's critiques of Isaac Newton's natural philosophy
This essay investigates how Nicolas Hartsoeker (1656-1725) engaged with and critiqued Isaac Newton's (1647-1727) Principia. Building on earlier work, this paper offers a comprehensive analysis of Hartsoeker's sustained opposition to Newton's ideas. By examining Hartsoeker's published writings, we develop a typology of his critiques, identifying key epistemological, methodological, and natural philosophical objections. Our analysis reveals Newton'…
Decoding Robert Greene's Critique of Newton's Natural Philosophy through His Analysis of Locke's Epistemology
Reason is but a Dim Light in Comparison with Revelation’
This article delves into the often-overlooked scholar Robert Greene, a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, who authored works in both religion and natural philosophy. Greene made significant contributions to the debate on the interplay between reason and faith, with his primary target being John Locke, whose epistemology and views on the relationship between reason and faith he considered detrimental to religion. This article examines Greene’s criti…
A Matter of Method
The Amsterdam-based self-educated polymath Lambert ten Kate (1674-1731) was well versed in different subjects. His contributions to the study of language and the new methods he employed to pursue it are the focus of this article. Ten Kate was well in tune with the natural philosophical developments of his day. Unsurprisingly, it has been argued that the methods he developed in the study of language were inspired by Isaac Newton’s (1643-1727) natu…
Isaac Newton Explicating His Natural Philosophical Method. A Study of the Development of the Methodological Statements in the Queries to the Opticks
Dans cet essai, nous étudions le développement de cinq passages méthodologiques importants dans les Queries de l’Opticks d’Isaac Newton (1642-1727) et nous explorons plusieurs raisons pour lesquelles il les a continuellement révisés et reformulés. Les Queries, publiés à la fois en anglais et en latin, ont une histoire éditoriale complexe et fascinante. Ici, nous analysons les manuscrits survivants en relation avec les versions publiées de l’Optic…
Characterisations in Britain of Isaac Newton’s Approach to Physical Inquiry in the Principia between 1687 and 1713
In order to gain a better understanding of the impact and circulation of the first edition of the Principia , we offer an analysis of public perceptions in Britain of Isaac Newton’s approach to physical inquiry in the Principia between the appearance of its first and second editions, in 1687 and 1713, respectively. We treat Newton’s readers as actors with distinctive scholarly backgrounds and interests rather than as followers or popularisers of …
Towards a Comparative Perspective on Newton’s Working Methods
In this review essay, I shall focus on matters dealt with in the three monographs under consideration that are related to Newton's working methods and methodological views more generally. Armed with an intimate knowledge of Newton's manuscripts, Rob Iliffe, one of the general editors of the Newton Project,1 in Priest of Nature traces Newton's religious beliefs from his early childhood to the early 1690s. Contrary to B.J.T. Dobbs' contention that …
Using one’s talents in honor of God
Argument Lambert ten Kate (1674-1731), the scholar of language, religious writer, art theoretician and collector, and natural philosophy enthusiast, was part of an informal network of Amsterdam-based mathematics and natural philosophy enthusiasts who played a pivotal role in the early diffusion of Newton’s natural philosophical ideas in the Dutch Republic. Because Ten Kate contributed to several areas of research, it is worth asking whether conne…
Adriaen Verwer (1654/5–1717) and the first edition of Isaac Newton's Principia in the Dutch Republic
The Amsterdam-based merchant and mathematics enthusiast Adriaen Verwer (1654/5–1717) was one of the few in the Dutch Republic to respond to the first edition of Newton's Principia (1687). Based on a close study of his published work, his correspondence with the Scottish mathematician and astronomer David Gregory (1659–1708), and his annotations in his own copy of the first edition of the Principia , I shall scrutinize the impact of Newton's ideas…
Constraining (mathematical) imagination by experience
Pieter van Musschenbroek on laws of nature
In this article, we discuss the development of the concept of a ‘law’ (of nature) in the work of the Dutch natural philosopher and experimenter Petrus van Musschenbroek (1692–1761). Since Van Musschenbroek is commonly described as one of the first ‘Newtonians’ on the Continent in the secondary literature, we focus more specifically on its relation to Newton's views on this issue. Although he was certainly indebted to Newton for his thinking on la…
Petrus van Musschenbroek and Newton’s ‘vera stabilisque Philosophandi methodus’
Petrus van Musschenbroek und Newtons ‚vera stabilisque Philosophandi methodus‘. In der Forschungsliteratur dominiert die Auffassung, Petrus van Musschenbroek sei Anhänger der Newton’schen Methodologie gewesen, d.h. ein Naturphilosoph, der sich trotz gelegentlicher Abweichung von Newtons Doktrinen an Newtons methodologischen Grundsätzen orientiert habe. Nur wenige Gelehrte haben bis heute im Detail untersucht, was der Satz, Musschenbroek sei Newto…
“The main Business of natural Philosophy”
Les Regulae philosophandi d’Isaac Newton
Kant and Whewell on Bridging Principles between Metaphysics and Science
In the ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ Kant aims to prove that space is nothing but a form of one’s internal intuition. To support his theses, he starts by writing a few arguments in the ‘Metaphysical Exposition on Space’. There, in his second premise Kant
Newton on action at a distance and the cause of gravity
Whewell’s tidal researches
Whewell, Necessity and The Inductive Sciences
In this paper Whewell’s concept of necessity is scrutinized and its historical development is outlined (ca. 1833–1860). Particular attention will be paid to how Whewell interpreted the laws of the inductive sciences as being necessary since the laws of nature are concretizations of the Fundamental Ideas which can be partially described by Axioms
Galileo and Huygens on free fall
1.-Introduction. 2.-Galileo's treatment of free all. 3.-Huygens's treatment of free fall. 4.-Comparing Galileo and Huygens
Whewell's metaphorical usage of light and the ultimate reality underlying it
In this article, I seek to study Whewell as writer of philosophical doctrines by focusing on his frequent usage of the metaphor of light, which symbolized (human) knowledge. It is my primary claim that Whewell choose to visually illustrate his doctrine of Fundamental Ideas, which are the bearers of ultimate reality and meaning in Whewell's epistemology, by means some key metaphors that made reference to light
Reid's adaptation and radicalization of Newton's natural philosophy
For Thomas Reid, Isaac Newton's scientific methodology in natural philosophy was a source of inspiration for philosophical methodology in general. I shall look at how Reid adapted Newton's views on methodology in natural philosophy. We shall see that Reid radicalized Newton's methodology (especially his view on causal explanation) and, thereby, begins to pave the way for the positivist movement, of which the origin is traditionally associated wit…
"Galileo's Interventionist Notion of "Cause
In this essay, I shall argue that Galileo introduced a new scientifically useful notion of causality. This new notion of causality was an interventionist notion, according to which causal relations can be discovered by actively exploring and manipulating natural processes. The presence of this conception can be seen from Galileo's explanation of floating bodies and his theory of the tides. I shall point to the similarity between Galileo's notion …
Newton’s notion and practice of unification
Newton's Training in the Aristotelian Textbook Tradition
Newton on action at a distance and the cause of gravity
Petrus van Musschenbroek and Newton’s ‘vera stabilisque Philosophandi methodus’
Petrus van Musschenbroek und Newtons ‚vera stabilisque Philosophandi methodus‘. In der Forschungsliteratur dominiert die Auffassung, Petrus van Musschenbroek sei Anhänger der Newton’schen Methodologie gewesen, d.h. ein Naturphilosoph, der sich trotz gelegentlicher Abweichung von Newtons Doktrinen an Newtons methodologischen Grundsätzen orientiert habe. Nur wenige Gelehrte haben bis heute im Detail untersucht, was der Satz, Musschenbroek sei Newto…
Newton's Training in the Aristotelian Textbook Tradition
"Galileo's Interventionist Notion of "Cause
In this essay, I shall argue that Galileo introduced a new scientifically useful notion of causality. This new notion of causality was an interventionist notion, according to which causal relations can be discovered by actively exploring and manipulating natural processes. The presence of this conception can be seen from Galileo's explanation of floating bodies and his theory of the tides. I shall point to the similarity between Galileo's notion …
Newton’s notion and practice of unification
Constraining (mathematical) imagination by experience
Reid's adaptation and radicalization of Newton's natural philosophy
For Thomas Reid, Isaac Newton's scientific methodology in natural philosophy was a source of inspiration for philosophical methodology in general. I shall look at how Reid adapted Newton's views on methodology in natural philosophy. We shall see that Reid radicalized Newton's methodology (especially his view on causal explanation) and, thereby, begins to pave the way for the positivist movement, of which the origin is traditionally associated wit…
Reason is but a Dim Light in Comparison with Revelation’
This article delves into the often-overlooked scholar Robert Greene, a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, who authored works in both religion and natural philosophy. Greene made significant contributions to the debate on the interplay between reason and faith, with his primary target being John Locke, whose epistemology and views on the relationship between reason and faith he considered detrimental to religion. This article examines Greene’s criti…
Whewell’s tidal researches
Whewell, Necessity and The Inductive Sciences
In this paper Whewell’s concept of necessity is scrutinized and its historical development is outlined (ca. 1833–1860). Particular attention will be paid to how Whewell interpreted the laws of the inductive sciences as being necessary since the laws of nature are concretizations of the Fundamental Ideas which can be partially described by Axioms
Newton’s notion and practice of unification
Newton's Training in the Aristotelian Textbook Tradition
Reid's adaptation and radicalization of Newton's natural philosophy
For Thomas Reid, Isaac Newton's scientific methodology in natural philosophy was a source of inspiration for philosophical methodology in general. I shall look at how Reid adapted Newton's views on methodology in natural philosophy. We shall see that Reid radicalized Newton's methodology (especially his view on causal explanation) and, thereby, begins to pave the way for the positivist movement, of which the origin is traditionally associated wit…
"Galileo's Interventionist Notion of "Cause
In this essay, I shall argue that Galileo introduced a new scientifically useful notion of causality. This new notion of causality was an interventionist notion, according to which causal relations can be discovered by actively exploring and manipulating natural processes. The presence of this conception can be seen from Galileo's explanation of floating bodies and his theory of the tides. I shall point to the similarity between Galileo's notion …
Galileo and Huygens on free fall
1.-Introduction. 2.-Galileo's treatment of free all. 3.-Huygens's treatment of free fall. 4.-Comparing Galileo and Huygens
Whewell's metaphorical usage of light and the ultimate reality underlying it
In this article, I seek to study Whewell as writer of philosophical doctrines by focusing on his frequent usage of the metaphor of light, which symbolized (human) knowledge. It is my primary claim that Whewell choose to visually illustrate his doctrine of Fundamental Ideas, which are the bearers of ultimate reality and meaning in Whewell's epistemology, by means some key metaphors that made reference to light
Whewell, Necessity and The Inductive Sciences
In this paper Whewell’s concept of necessity is scrutinized and its historical development is outlined (ca. 1833–1860). Particular attention will be paid to how Whewell interpreted the laws of the inductive sciences as being necessary since the laws of nature are concretizations of the Fundamental Ideas which can be partially described by Axioms
Whewell’s tidal researches
Kant and Whewell on Bridging Principles between Metaphysics and Science
In the ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ Kant aims to prove that space is nothing but a form of one’s internal intuition. To support his theses, he starts by writing a few arguments in the ‘Metaphysical Exposition on Space’. There, in his second premise Kant
Newton on action at a distance and the cause of gravity
“The main Business of natural Philosophy”
Les Regulae philosophandi d’Isaac Newton
Petrus van Musschenbroek and Newton’s ‘vera stabilisque Philosophandi methodus’
Petrus van Musschenbroek und Newtons ‚vera stabilisque Philosophandi methodus‘. In der Forschungsliteratur dominiert die Auffassung, Petrus van Musschenbroek sei Anhänger der Newton’schen Methodologie gewesen, d.h. ein Naturphilosoph, der sich trotz gelegentlicher Abweichung von Newtons Doktrinen an Newtons methodologischen Grundsätzen orientiert habe. Nur wenige Gelehrte haben bis heute im Detail untersucht, was der Satz, Musschenbroek sei Newto…
Pieter van Musschenbroek on laws of nature
In this article, we discuss the development of the concept of a ‘law’ (of nature) in the work of the Dutch natural philosopher and experimenter Petrus van Musschenbroek (1692–1761). Since Van Musschenbroek is commonly described as one of the first ‘Newtonians’ on the Continent in the secondary literature, we focus more specifically on its relation to Newton's views on this issue. Although he was certainly indebted to Newton for his thinking on la…
Constraining (mathematical) imagination by experience
Adriaen Verwer (1654/5–1717) and the first edition of Isaac Newton's Principia in the Dutch Republic
The Amsterdam-based merchant and mathematics enthusiast Adriaen Verwer (1654/5–1717) was one of the few in the Dutch Republic to respond to the first edition of Newton's Principia (1687). Based on a close study of his published work, his correspondence with the Scottish mathematician and astronomer David Gregory (1659–1708), and his annotations in his own copy of the first edition of the Principia , I shall scrutinize the impact of Newton's ideas…
Isaac Newton Explicating His Natural Philosophical Method. A Study of the Development of the Methodological Statements in the Queries to the Opticks
Dans cet essai, nous étudions le développement de cinq passages méthodologiques importants dans les Queries de l’Opticks d’Isaac Newton (1642-1727) et nous explorons plusieurs raisons pour lesquelles il les a continuellement révisés et reformulés. Les Queries, publiés à la fois en anglais et en latin, ont une histoire éditoriale complexe et fascinante. Ici, nous analysons les manuscrits survivants en relation avec les versions publiées de l’Optic…
Characterisations in Britain of Isaac Newton’s Approach to Physical Inquiry in the Principia between 1687 and 1713
In order to gain a better understanding of the impact and circulation of the first edition of the Principia , we offer an analysis of public perceptions in Britain of Isaac Newton’s approach to physical inquiry in the Principia between the appearance of its first and second editions, in 1687 and 1713, respectively. We treat Newton’s readers as actors with distinctive scholarly backgrounds and interests rather than as followers or popularisers of …
Towards a Comparative Perspective on Newton’s Working Methods
In this review essay, I shall focus on matters dealt with in the three monographs under consideration that are related to Newton's working methods and methodological views more generally. Armed with an intimate knowledge of Newton's manuscripts, Rob Iliffe, one of the general editors of the Newton Project,1 in Priest of Nature traces Newton's religious beliefs from his early childhood to the early 1690s. Contrary to B.J.T. Dobbs' contention that …
Using one’s talents in honor of God
Argument Lambert ten Kate (1674-1731), the scholar of language, religious writer, art theoretician and collector, and natural philosophy enthusiast, was part of an informal network of Amsterdam-based mathematics and natural philosophy enthusiasts who played a pivotal role in the early diffusion of Newton’s natural philosophical ideas in the Dutch Republic. Because Ten Kate contributed to several areas of research, it is worth asking whether conne…
A Matter of Method
The Amsterdam-based self-educated polymath Lambert ten Kate (1674-1731) was well versed in different subjects. His contributions to the study of language and the new methods he employed to pursue it are the focus of this article. Ten Kate was well in tune with the natural philosophical developments of his day. Unsurprisingly, it has been argued that the methods he developed in the study of language were inspired by Isaac Newton’s (1643-1727) natu…
Decoding Robert Greene's Critique of Newton's Natural Philosophy through His Analysis of Locke's Epistemology
Reason is but a Dim Light in Comparison with Revelation’
This article delves into the often-overlooked scholar Robert Greene, a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, who authored works in both religion and natural philosophy. Greene made significant contributions to the debate on the interplay between reason and faith, with his primary target being John Locke, whose epistemology and views on the relationship between reason and faith he considered detrimental to religion. This article examines Greene’s criti…
Nicolas Hartsoeker's critiques of Isaac Newton's natural philosophy
This essay investigates how Nicolas Hartsoeker (1656-1725) engaged with and critiqued Isaac Newton's (1647-1727) Principia. Building on earlier work, this paper offers a comprehensive analysis of Hartsoeker's sustained opposition to Newton's ideas. By examining Hartsoeker's published writings, we develop a typology of his critiques, identifying key epistemological, methodological, and natural philosophical objections. Our analysis reveals Newton'…
Philosophy (22 works) · Epistemology (18 works) · Historical Philosophy and Science (18 works) · History (12 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Natural Philosophy (8 works) · Philosophy and History of Science (8 works) · History (7 works) · History of Science and Medicine (7 works) · Natural (archaeology (7 works)