In 1996, the unfortunate year in which he died, Newton scholar Richard S. Westfall began to plan a Newton volume for the Cambridge Companion series (xiii). This volume outlines a high-quality status quaestionis of Newton scholarship, realized in no fewer than sixteen essays. Specialist contributors (the list is quite impressive, to say the least) provide an up-to-date examination of the diverse disciplines Newton studied during his life. It is fascinating to see how Newton scholarship has meandered (and still continues to do so) throughout the different disciplines that correspond to the diverse interests of Newton's own intellectual activities. This work sets out to take those varied scholarly interests into account, in order to provide a more accurate introduction to his intellectual life and to discover a more ‘genuine Newton’. The Companion contains essays devoted to each of the following themes: Newton as physicist, Newton as mathematician, and ‘the other Newton’ of alchemy, prophecy, theology, and prisca sapientia.
In the first essay, Robert DiSalle argues that by introducing the notions of absolute space and time, Newton was trying to define new theoretical concepts within a framework of physical laws (36). Newton attempted to give empirical meaning to these concepts (51). This adds nuance to the myth that absolute space and time were mere idle metaphysical notions. In the second essay, I. Bernard Cohen explores Newton's concepts of mass and force (inherent, impressed, and centripetal). This presentation is succinct and to the point. In the third essay, Bruce Brackenbridge studies the idea of curvature in Newton's physics from 1664 to the Principia period. In the fourth essay, George E. Smith ambitiously tries to capture Newton's methodology in the Principia. According to Smith, the Principia exhibits a procedure wherein the approximative propositions derived in Book 1 are rigorously deduced from the laws of motion (160). This makes Newton's method different from a simple hypothetico-deductive method (where discrepancies between theory and observation are explained ad hoc), since every discrepancy between Newtonian theory and observation is physically significant (166). This essay will appeal especially to philosophers of science. In the fifth essay, William Harper unravels Newton's argument for universal gravitation (as given in Book 3 of the Principia) in its full complexity. This essay is very instructive. In the sixth essay Curtis Wilson portrays the fascinating history from Kepler's laws (or ‘rules’ as they were called at the time) to Newton's use of them in his theory of universal gravitation. In the seventh essay, Alan E. Shapiro shows—contrary to common opinion—that despite his endorsement of an emission theory of light as a valuable working hypothesis, Newton never thought that the corpuscular view of light was a demonstrated scientific principle (227). In the eighth essay, Howard Stein explores Newton's metaphysics—a word which Newton rarely used himself (256)—and contrasts it with Descartes’ Principia Philosophiae. Stein portrays their different philosophical projects. In the following essay, Niccolò Guicciardini discusses the analytical and synthetic methods in Newton's physics and mathematics. Guicciardini argues that both methods were present in his work, ranging from Newton's early work to the Principia. In the tenth essay, Alan Gabbey stresses the importance of ‘active principles’ in Newton's mechanics. In the following essay, William Newman points to the close interaction of Newton's corpuscular theory of matter and his research in chemistry, especially its relation to the ideas of Van Helmont (366). In the twelfth essay, Karen Figala gives a nice introduction to Newton's interest in alchemy and points to the influence of Micheal Maier and Micheal Sendivogius. In the thirteenth essay, Maurizio Mamiani shows Newton's deep involvement in prophesy and the apocalypse. In the fourteenth essay, Scott Mandelbrote discusses the reception of Newton's posthumously published theological writings, which exhibit a strong anti-Trinitarian component. In the fifteenth essay, A. Rupert Hall shows how Newton's mathematical conservatism intensified the priority debate. In the final essay, Domenico Bertoloni Meli takes stock of the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence and tries to assess to role of Newton in the debate. Each of these essays adds nuance to the common myth of Newton.
The bibliography discusses all the primary editions of Newton's work, as well as some significant secondary sources grouped into diverse categories. From my personal experience, I must say that this bibliography comes in very handy (and will do so, I suspect, for others already in or entering the field). The book offers a detailed and well-balanced collection of essays, which is accessible to and relevant for both historians and philosophers of science. By adding the bibliography, the editors have surely made this volume a highly welcomed companion, which will be used and reused by their readers, read and reread. The only concern that I have about the volume is that it makes no attempt to combine and integrate the various disciplines that Newton practiced, so as to form a general picture of Newton. How did the ‘other Newton’ relate to Newton as physicist and mathematician? I think that this will be the work of future generations of Newton scholars. In a similar vein, the last part of The Companion, which concerns the ‘other Newton’, doesn't seem as holistically coherent as the first collection of essays. Nevertheless, we surely ought to applaud the editors and authors for their cooperation, because it has resulted in an indispensable tool for decades to come. The Companion dispenses with the myth of Newton and portrays him as the complex, versatile, and fascinating person that he was. I have no doubt that Richard S. Westfall would have been very pleased with the result. Floreat philosophia naturalis Newtoni!
