Certain Philosophical Questions
Newton's Trinity Notebook

This volume provides a complete transcription of the Questiones, together with an 'expansion' into modern English.

J. E. McGuire (Author), Martin Tamny (Author)

9780521530668, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 February 2003

532 pages
23 x 15.4 x 3.4 cm, 0.786 kg

Isaac Newton wrote the manuscript Questiones quaedam philosophicae at the very beginning of his scientific career. This small notebook thus affords rare insight into the beginnings of Newton's thought and the foundations of his subsequent intellectual development. The Questiones contains a series of entries in Newton's hand that range over many topics in science, philosophy, psychology, theology, and the foundations of mathematics. These notes, written in English, provide a very detailed picture of Newton's early interests, and record his critical appraisal of contemporary issues in natural philosophy. Written predominantly in 1664–5, they give a significant perspective on Newton's thought just prior to his annus mirabilis, 1666. This volume provides a complete transcription of the Questiones, together with an 'expansion' into modern English, and a full editorial commentary on the content and significance of the notebook in the development of Newton's thought. It will be essential reading for all those interested in Newton and the intellectual foundations of science.

Preface
Part I. Commentary: Introduction
1. Infinity, indivisibilism, and the void
2. The Cartesian influence
3. Newton on projectile motion and the void
4. Physiology and Hobbesian epistemology
5. The origin of Newton's optical thought and its connection with physiology
6. Gravitation, attraction, and cohesion
7. Astronomy
8. Things and souls
Part II. Transcription and Expansion of Questiones Quaedam Philosophicae: Principles of the transcription and expansion
The transcription and expansion
Appendix
Glossary
Symbols and shorthand devices
Selected bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Physics [PH]