Equivalence and Priority

ISBN-13: 9780198501435 / Angielski / Miękka / 1997 / 328 str.

Domenico Bertonloni Meli

Opis

Leibniz's dispute with Newton over the physico-mathematical theories expounded in the Principia Mathematica (1687) have long been identified as a crucial episode in the history of science. Bertolini Meli here examines several hitherto unpublished manuscripts in Leibniz's hand illustrating his first reading of and reaction to Newton's Principia. Six of the most important manuscripts are here presented for the first time. Contrary to Leibniz's own claims, this new evidence shows that he had studied Newton's masterpiece before publishing An Essay on the Causes of Celestial Motions. This article, representing his response to Newton, also included in English translation. Meli analyzes the important implications of this episode on a variety of themes ranging from priority claims to the mathematization of nature in the 17th century. Besides providing a careful study of Leibniz's style and strategy, the author examines how our perception of Newton's achievement is affected and the reception of the rival theories by the mathematical community around 1700. This unique work will interest all historians of science and philosophy.

Recenzje

The book presents a lucidly written insight into the development of mathematical physics around the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth century and to the background of the analysis of Leibniz's reactions to Newton's Principia... The book provides an interesting reading and can be warmly recommended not only to those wishing to understand many facets of the Newton Leibniz rivalry, but to general readers with an interest in the history of mathematics.

O autorze

Dr Domenico Bertoloni Meli, 315 Sheffield Drive, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA Email: dbmeli@indiana.edu