Ducheyne S. The Main Business of Natural Philosophy: Isaac Newton's Natural-philosophical Methodology

Springer, 2012. — 352 p. — (Archimedes, Vol. 29). — ISBN 9789400721258, 9400721250.In this monograph, Steffen Ducheyne provides a historically detailed and systematically rich explication of Newton's methodology. Throughout the pages of this book, it will be shown that Newton developed a complex natural-philosophical methodology which encompasses procedures to minimize inductive risk during the process of theory formation and which, thereby, surpasses a standard hypothetico-deductive methodological setting. Accordingly, it will be highlighted that the so-called Newtonian Revolution was not restricted to the empirical and theoretical dimensions of science, but applied equally to the methodological dimension of science. Furthermore, it will be documented that Newton's methodology was far from static and that it developed alongside with his scientific work. Attention will be paid not only to the successes of Newton's innovative methodology, but equally to its tensions and limitations.
Based on a thorough study of Newton's extant manuscripts, this monograph will address and contextualize, inter alia, Newton's causal realism, his views on action at a distance and space and time, the status of efficient causation in the Principia, the different phases of his methodology, his treatment of force and the constituents of the physico-mathematical models in the context of Book I of the Principia, the analytic part of the argument for universal gravitation, the meaning and significance of his regulae philosophandi, the methodological differences between his mechanical and optical work, and, finally, the interplay between Newton's theology and his natural philosophy.Newton's Causal Methodology.
Newton and Causes: Something Borrowed and Something New.
Introduction.
Stewart's Objection: The Logical Problem of Analysis and Synthesis.
Newton's Early Aristotelian Training.
Textbooks on Logic and Method.
Newton on Natural-Philosophical Analysis and Synthesis.
Centripetal Forces as Causes.
Newton on Action at a Distance.
Conclusion.
Coda: Did Newton Actually Mean «Explanations»?
Appendix: Transcription of CUL Add. Ms. 3968, f. 109r-v [Early 1710s].
Newton's Methodology: «The Best Way of Arguing in Natural Philosophy».
Uncovering the Methodology of the Principia (I): The Phase of Model Construction.
Introduction.
Newton's Rejection of the Method of Hypothesis.
The Strong Version of I. Bernard Cohen's «Newtonian Style» and Its Predicament.
The Constituents of Newton's Models in Book I.
Newton's Definitions.
Newton's Laws of Motion.
The Mathematical Machinery of the Principia.
The Constituents of the Models in Books I--II.
Crucial Sorts of Propositions of Book I.
Inferring Inverse-Square Centripetal Forces from Exact or Quam Proxime Keplerian Motion.
The Harmonic Rule.
Many-Body Systems.
The Attractive Forces of Spherical Bodies.
Newton's Methodology Part I: Book I as an «Autonomous Enterprise».
Uncovering the Methodology of the Principia (II): The Phase of Model Application, Theory Formation and Theory Application.
Introduction.
The Development and Meaning of Newton's Regulae Philosophandi.
Justifying the Absence of a Resisting Medium.
The Arguments for Universal Gravitation: The Analysis.
Propositions I--II: The Inference of Inverse-Square Centripetal Forces Acting on the Primary and Secondary Planets.
Propositions III-IV: The Inference of an Inverse-Square Centripetal Force Acting on the Moon.
Proposition V: From Centripetal Force to «Gravity».
Proposition VI: Weight-Mass Proportionality.
Proposition VII-VIII: Universal Gravitation.
The Argument for Universal Gravitation: The Synthesis or the Phase of Theory Application.
An Outline of Newton's Methodology in Book III of the Principia.
Appendix 1: Relevant Additions and Changes Occurring in the Second Edition of the Principia (1713).
Appendix 2: Relevant Additions and Changes Occurring in the Third Edition of the Principia (1726).
Facing the Limits of Deductions from Phenomena: Newton's Quest for a Mathematical-Demonstrative Optics.
Introduction.
The Opticks as an Incomplete Treatise.
The Corporality of Light as a Hypothesis.
Newton's Argument for the Heterogeneity of White Light.
Scrutinizing Newton's Two Conclusions.
Early Newton's Demonstrative Rhetoric.
Further Problems in The Opticks.
Looking with Unseeing Eyes into the Invisible Realm: The Problem of Transduction.
Newton on Non-gravitational Forces.
The Asymmetry Between the Principia and The Opticks.
Appendix: Transcription of CUL Add. Ms. 3965, f. 422r [ca. 1715].
Uncovering the Methodology of the Principia (III): A Brief Chronology of Newton's Methodological Itinerary.
Introduction.
The Early Period (ca. 1671--1675): Mathematizing Optics.
The Principia-Period (ca. 1684–1687): The Principia and Its Methodology.
The Post-Principia Period (ca. 1690–1704): The Implications of the Principia Methodology for Newton’s Optical Research.
The Later Period (ca. 1713–1726): Inductive Provisionalism.
Newton's Theology.
«To Treat of God from Phenomena».
Introduction.
The Theology of the General Scholium.
Newton on the Dangers of Cartesian Philosophy.
The Interaction Between Newton's Natural Philosophy and His Theology (I): Case-Studies.
Case 1: Methodizing Prophecy.
Case 2: Newton on Space and Time.
The Interaction Between Newton's Natural Philosophy and His Theology (II): General Discussion and Conclusion.
Appendices.
Appendix 1: Catalogue of the Manuscript Material Directly Related to the General Scholium.
Appendix 2: Manuscripts from the Portsmouth Collection Related to the Classical Scholia.
Appendix 3: Manuscript Transcription of An Account of the Systeme of the World.
Conclusion.
References.
Abbreviations.
Manuscripts and Books from Newton's Library Consulted.
Manuscripts (By Location).
Cambridge University Library.
Portsmouth Collection.
Macclesfield Collection.
King's College, University of Cambridge.
Royal Society's Library and Archives, London.
Fondation Bodmer, Geneva.
New College Library, University of Oxford.
The National Library of Israel.
The Grace K. Babson Collection of Newtonia, Babson College Archives, Wellesley,Massachusetts.
Williams Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California Los Angeles.
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin.
James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Books from Newton's Private Library (By Location).
Cambridge University Library.
Wren Library, Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
Other References.
Index.