Newton and the Cyclical Cosmos
Providence and the Mechanical Philosophy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4456635 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Kubrin (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1967 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 325 |
| Publication date | 1967-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the History of Ideas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-5037 • E-ISSN: 1086-3222 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2708622 |
| OpenAlex | W2335283382 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 23 |
The important debate between Newton and Leibniz in 1715 over metaphysical principles served to bring out fundamental differences in the way the two conceived of physical reality. At the heart of the debate were several basic tenets of Newtonian science which Leibniz objected to, one of which was Newton's 1706 statement of the world's decay. Newton had said that though the system of the sun and planets would continue for many Ages, over the course of years irregularities arising from the mutual attraction of the planets and the comets will be apt to increase, till this System wants a Reformation. . Leibniz objected to such a conception of an imperfect system of the world: to him it implied an imperfect Creator, lacking either the foresight or the ability to fashion a cosmic machinery able to last without His constant meddling. A truly perfect Creator, Leibniz insisted, would have fashioned a world which would last forever unless He were to intervene purposely to destroy it. This contrasted with Newton's belief that God would wisely fashion His creation in such a way that .. nothing is done without his continual government and inspection ,2 so that God had to act merely to allow the world to continue. Left by itself, an imperfect system made of mere dead matter, the world would tend over the course of centuries to become so unwound that a new creation-or reformation, as Newton put it-would be necessary.3
Art · Art history · Cosmos (plant) · Epistemology · Natural Philosophy · Historical Astronomy and Related Studies · Historical Philosophy and Science · History of Science and Medicine · Philosophy
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The Reformation and 'The Disenchantment of the World' Reassessed
The Death of Nature
Madame du Châtelet's metaphysics and mechanics
Newton's “Principles of Philosophy”
Abstract considerations
Causation and gravitation in George Cheyne's Newtonian natural philosophy
Space, atoms and mathematical divisibility in Newton
William Whiston, Isaac Newton and the crisis of publicity
Gravity’s cause and substance counting
Thermodynamics and Sources of Solar Heat, 1846–1862
A duty of the greatest moment’
Alexander Catcott
Matter and Spirit as Natural Symbols in eighteenth-century British natural philosophy
Godly Men and Mechanical Philosophers
Clocks to Computers
| Unique citing works | 23 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,41 |
| Citation span | 1970 - 2023 (54) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |