Reading the Principia: The Debate on Newton's Mathematical Methods for Natural Philosophy from 1687 to 1736
Isaac Newton's Principia is considered one of the masterpieces in the history of science. The mathematical methods employed by Newton in the Principia stimulated much debate among his contemporaries, especially Leibniz, Huygens, Bernoulli and Euler, who debated their merits and drawbacks. Among the questions they asked were: How should natural philosophy be mathematized?; Is it legitimate to use uninterpreted symbols?; Is it possible to depart from the established Archimedean or...
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Volume on the interpretation of Newton's Principia.
1. Purpose of this book; Part I. Newton's Methods: 2. Newton's methods of series and fluxions; 3. The mathematical methods of the Principia; Part II. Three Readers: 4. Newton: between tradition and innovation; 5. Huygens: the Principia and proportion theory; 6. Leibniz: not equivalent in practice; Part III. Two Schools: 7. Britain: in the wake of the Principia; 8. Basel: challenging the Principia; 9. Conclusion: Newtonians, Leibnizians and Eulerians; References.
