Newton vs. Leibniz: Intransparency vs. Inconsistency
نویسندگان
چکیده
The early modern debates on the nature of space enjoy a renewed interest in the recent philosophical literature. Focal points of the discussion are the opposition between the “absolute” vs. the “relational ” conception of space and the related issue of its presumed substantival nature. Quintessential formulations of the key positions in the debate remain the viewpoints attributed to Newton and Leibniz. But scholarly disagreement concerning them remains stark. Especially with respect to Newton the defended interpretations range from anti-metaphysical readings (based on the notorious “I do not feign hypotheses”) to at first glance almost theological readings that have him speculate about the relation between God and world. Leibniz, on the other hand, is presented as Newton’s counterpart, who sets out tackling mechanical problems with an a priori metaphysical scheme — inherited from Descartes — already laid out in his mind. But Newton clearly conceived of himself as a natural philosopher [52, p. 2], while Leibniz, certainly in his earlier years, would have insisted on his use of strictly mechanical concepts only [10, Introduction]. We believe that, in order to be able to judge on the “metaphysical degree” of the positions taken by our protagonists, we should understand more clearly what metaphysics itself is about. This question is often ignored. We shall show
منابع مشابه
Was the Early Calculus an Inconsistent Theory?
The ubiquitous assertion that the early calculus of Newton and Leibniz was an inconsistent theory is examined. Two different objects of a possible inconsistency claim are distinguished: (i) the calculus as an algorithm; (ii) proposed explanations of the moves made within the algorithm. In the first case the calculus can be interpreted as a theory in something like the logician’s sense, whereas ...
متن کاملThe Calculus Wars Reviewed by Brian
According to a consensus that has not been seriously challenged in nearly a century, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Isaac Newton independently coinvented calculus. Neither would have countenanced history’s verdict. Maintaining that he alone invented calculus, Leibniz argued that his priority should be recognized for the good of mathematics. As he reasoned [12, p. 22], “It is most useful that the...
متن کاملApplication of different inverse methods for combination of vS and vGPR data to estimate porosity and water saturation
Inverse problem is one of the most important problems in geophysics as model parameters can be estimated from the measured data directly using inverse techniques. In this paper, applying different inverse methods on integration of S-wave and GPR velocities are investigated for estimation of porosity and water saturation. A combination of linear and nonlinear inverse problems are solved. Linear ...
متن کاملKnightian Intransparency of Central Bank and Labor Union∗
We analyze a simple strategic model of interaction between central bank and labor union. We assume that the intransparency of the central bank (labor union) induces Knightian uncertainty faced by the labor union (central bank). Knightian uncertainty means that decision makers are unable to make exact probability judgements. It is modelled by Choquet Expected Utility Theory and its recent applic...
متن کامل