Isaac Newton at the boundary between theology and natural philosophy

It is well known that Newton regarded Descartes as his principal philosophical interlocutor when composing the first edition of the Principia . The arguments in the Scholium on space and time, for instance, can be interpreted as focusing specifically on the relativist conception of space and motion in Descartes's Principles . What is less well known, however, is that this Cartesian conception, along with Descartes's attempt to avoid Galileo's fate in 1633, serves as an essential background to understanding Newton's own (poorly understood) view of the theological implications of his theory of space, time and motion. In particular, after withdrawing Le Monde from publication in 1633 because of its Copernican leanings, Descartes later introduced a "fudge factor" into the theory of motion in the Principles , concluding that in one sense the earth does move, but properly speaking, it does not. This background highlights the novelty and originality of Newton's own attempt to indicate how Scriptural passages concerning the motion of the Earth could be reconciled with the philosophical views he developed during the period from 1680-1687. New evidence from archival sources and correspondence supports this argument, shedding new light on the Scholium itself.

Room 205