A Theory of Natural Philosophy

A Theory of Natural Philosophy PDF Author: Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : la
Pages : 504

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Book Description

A Theory of Natural Philosophy

A Theory of Natural Philosophy PDF Author: Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : la
Pages : 504

Get Book Here

Book Description


Ruggiero Boscovich’s Theory of Natural Philosophy

Ruggiero Boscovich’s Theory of Natural Philosophy PDF Author: Luca Guzzardi
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030520935
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
Drawing on published works, correspondence and manuscripts, this book offers the most comprehensive reconstruction of Boscovich’s theory within its historical context. It explains the genesis and theoretical as well as epistemological underpinnings in light of the Jesuit tradition to which Boscovich belonged, and contrasts his ideas with those of Newton, Leibniz, and their legacy. Finally, it debates crucial issues in early-modern physical science such as the concept of force, the particle-like structure of matter, the idea of material points and the notion of continuity, and shares novel insights on Boscovich’s alleged influence on later developments in physics. With its attempt to reduce all natural forces to one single law, Boscovich’s Theory of Natural Philosophy, published in 1758, left a lasting impression on scientists and philosophers of every age regarding the fundamental unity of physical phenomena. The theory argues that every pair of material points is subject to one mutual force — and always the same force — which is their propensity to be mutually attracted or repelled, depending on their distance from one another. Furthermore, the action of this unique force is visualized through a famous diagram that fascinated generations of scientists. But his understanding of key terms of the theory — such as the notion of force involved and the very idea of a material point — is only ostensibly similar to our current conceptual framework. Indeed, it needs to be clarified within the plurality of contexts in which it has emerged rather than being considered in view of later developments. The book is recommended for scholars and students interested in the ideas of the early modern period, especially historians and philosophers of science, mathematicians and physicists with an interest in the history of the discipline, and experts on Jesuit science and philosophy.

“The main Business of natural Philosophy”

“The main Business of natural Philosophy” PDF Author: Steffen Ducheyne
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400721269
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
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.

Greek Natural Philosophy

Greek Natural Philosophy PDF Author: John Baird Callicott
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781516554270
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Greek Natural Philosophy presents the primary sources on the Presocratics in a straightforward way in order to tell a coherent story about the astonishing development of natural philosophy in ancient Greece and its relevance today. The book begins with historical influences on the birth of natural philosophy, especially literacy and the ecosystem services provided by the natural environment of ancient Greece. It argues that the individual philosophers' thoughts about the nature of the cosmos, living things, humankind, and human culture were linked by a "diachronic dialectic of ideas." Each philosopher's speculations were subjected to a critique by the next generation who crafted more subtle theories. The dialectical transition is traced from the mythopoeic worldview of Hesiod to the rational worldview of Thales and his Milesian successors, followed by Xenophanes and Heraclitus, then Parmenides and his Eleatic successors, and the qualitative pluralisms of Anaxagoras and Empedocles. An entirely fresh interpretation is provided of the Atomists and later Pythagoreans, whose work culminated in the ideas upon which Galileo, Newton, and the other architects of modern science, continued to build. In the span of only two centuries, the Presocratics developed the basic principles of philosophy and natural science, ecology, mathematical astronomy, the atomic theory of matter, an inertial theory of motion, and the possibility that our solar system is only one of infinitely many scattered throughout infinite time and space. The concluding chapter traces natural philosophy through subsequent centuries until its abandonment in 20th century philosophy, leading to the moribund state of philosophy by the end of that century. The authors show how environmental philosophy represents a return to natural philosophy and a model for the revival of philosophy's vigor and relevance in the 21st century. Greek Natural Philosophy is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in ancient Greek philosophy or in environmental philosophy, and will be of interest to scholars in these fields.

A History of Natural Philosophy

A History of Natural Philosophy PDF Author: Edward Grant
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521869315
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
This book describes how natural philosophy and exact mathematical sciences joined together to make the Scientific Revolution possible.

Seeking Nature's Logic

Seeking Nature's Logic PDF Author: David B. Wilson
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271035250
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
"Studies the path of natural philosophy (i.e., physics) from Isaac Newton through Scotland into the nineteenth-century background to the modern revolution in physics. Examines how the history of science has been influenced by John Robison and other notable intellectuals of the Scottish Enlightenment"--Provided by publisher.

Camilla Erculiani, Letters on Natural Philosophy

Camilla Erculiani, Letters on Natural Philosophy PDF Author: Camilla Erculiani
Publisher: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (ACMRS)
ISBN: 9780866987639
Category : Women pharmacists
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"English translation of letters by a woman pharmacist, a grocer's daughter and pharmacist's wife, active in the scientific milieu of Padua, in which is proposed a materialist explanation of Noah's flood that prompts an accusation of heresy. Accompanying her own letters are letters to her and a legal brief in her defense"--

Sir Isaac Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy and His System of the World

Sir Isaac Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy and His System of the World PDF Author: Sir Isaac Newton
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520321723
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 714

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Book Description
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1934.

Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan (Longman Library of Primary Sources in Philosophy)

Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan (Longman Library of Primary Sources in Philosophy) PDF Author: Thomas Hobbes
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315507595
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Part of the “Longman Library of Primary Sources in Philosophy,” this edition of Hobbes's Leviathan is framed by a pedagogical structure designed to make this important work of philosophy more accessible and meaningful for undergraduates.

John Locke and Natural Philosophy

John Locke and Natural Philosophy PDF Author: Peter R. Anstey
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199589771
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Peter Anstey presents an innovative study of John Locke's views on the method and content of natural philosophy. He argues that Locke was an advocate of the experimental philosophy: the new approach to natural philosophy championed by the scientists of the Royal Society who were opposed to speculative philosophy.