Article ID: CBB001320795

Causal Language and the Structure of Force in Newton's System of the World (2013)

unapi

Although Newton carefully eschews questions about gravity's causal basis in the published Principia, the original version of his masterwork's third book contains some intriguing causal language. These forces, he writes, arise from the universal nature of matter. Such remarks seem to assert knowledge of gravity's cause, even that matter is capable of robust and distant action. Some commentators defend that interpretation of the text---a text whose proper interpretation is important since Newton's reasons for suppressing it strongly suggest that he continued to endorse its ideas. This article argues that the surface appearance of Newton's causal language is deceptive. What does Newton intend with his causal language if not a full causal hypothesis? His remarks actually indicate a way of considering the force mathematically, something he contrasts to the structure of the force as it really is in nature. In explaining that, he identifies a significant disjunction between the physical force itself and mathematical ways of considering it, and the text's significance lies in its view of the force's structure and in the questions raised about the relationship between mathematical representations and the physical world.

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Authors & Contributors
Pourciau, Bruce H.
Henry, John
Adwait A. Parker
Stan, Marius
Smith, George E.
Maglo, Koffi
Concepts
Physics
Forces
Gravitation
Mechanics
Motion (physical)
Philosophy of science
Time Periods
17th century
18th century
19th century
Places
Great Britain
England
Germany
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