The formation of the Newtonian philosophy

The case of the Amsterdam mathematical amateurs

Bibliographic Data

ID8393162
AuthorsRienk Vermij (0000-0002-2663-4840, Utrecht University, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume36
Issue2
Pages183-200
Publication date2003-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe British Journal for the History of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0874 • E-ISSN: 1474-001X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0007087403004990
OpenAlexW2143070243
LanguageEN
Citations received6

In the eighteenth century, Newton's ideas were an important element of the dominant world view, but it was not immediately clear that they could play such a role. What made them seem philosophically relevant is investigated in the case of the Dutch Republic. At the universities people initially were rather sceptical about Newton's theories. Support came mainly from scientific amateurs who tried to place their religious feelings on a scientific footing. The Spinozists' claim that religion was refuted by mathematics created the need for a scientific answer, which would demonstrate the fallaciousness of Spinoza's geometrical method and uphold revealed religion. In this article, it is shown in some detail how Newtonian ideas were put to such use among mathematical amateurs in Amsterdam, mainly under the influence of informal contacts with David Gregory and his circle. Physico-theology appeared not so much as a fresh start as a transformation of the older mathematical approach of philosophical and religious questions

Element (criminal law · Epistemology · Feeling · Political science · Skepticism · Sociology · Historical Philosophy and Science · Law · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought

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