Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-g96k6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-09T22:44:20.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Meaning and Status of Newton's Law of Inertia and the Nature of Gravitational Forces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

J. Earman  and
M. Friedman
J. Earman
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota and Harvard University
M. Friedman
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota and Harvard University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A four dimensional approach to Newtonian physics is used to distinguish between a number of different structures for Newtonian space-time and a number of different formulations of Newtonian gravitational theory. This in turn makes possible an in-depth study of the meaning and status of Newton's Law of Inertia and a detailed comparison of the Newtonian and Einsteinian versions of the Law of Inertia and the Newtonian and Einsteinian treatments of gravitational forces. Various claims about the status of Newton's Law of Inertia are critically examined including these: the Law of Inertia is not an empirical law but a definition; it is not a law simpliciter but a family of schemata; it is a convention and gravitational forces exist only by convention; it is (or is not) redundant; the concepts it embodies can be dispensed with in favor of operationally defined entities; it is unique for a given theory. More generally, the paper demonstrates the importance of space-time structure for the philosophy of space and time and provides support for a realist interpretation of space-time theories.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , September 1973 , pp. 329 - 359
Copyright
Copyright © 1973 by The Philosophy of Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

[1] Anderson, J. L. Principles of Relativity Physics. New York: Academic Press, 1967.10.1063/1.3034080CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[2] Audretsch, J. “Inertial Reference Frames in Einstein's Theory of Gravitation.” International Journal of Theoretical Physics 4 (1971): 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[3] Bergmann, P. Introduction to the Theory of Relativity. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1960.Google Scholar
[4] Cattaneo, C. “General Relativity: Standard Mass, Momentum, Energy and Gravitational Field in a General System of Reference.” Nuovo Cimento 10 (1958): 318–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[5] Droz-Vincent, P. “Electromagnetism and Geodesics.” Nuovo Cimento 51B (1967): 555–556.10.1007/BF02712074CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[6] Earman, J. “Space-Time, Or How to Solve Philosophical Problems and Dissolve Philosophical Muddles Without Really Trying.” Journal of Philosophy 67 (1970): 259–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[7] Earman, J. “The Closed Universe.” Noûs 4 (1970): 261–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[8] Earman, J. “Who's Afraid of Absolute Space?” Australasian Journal of Philosophy 48 (1970): 287–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[9] Earman, J. “Einstein and Mach; Covariance and Invariance; and the Special and General Principles of Relativity.” (Unpublished manuscript, 1972)Google Scholar
[10] Ellis, B. “The Origin and Nature of Newton's Laws of Motion.” in Beyond the Edge of Certainty. Edited by Colodny, R. G. Pittsburgh: University Pittsburgh Press, 1965.Google Scholar
[11] Fock, V. The Theory of Space, Time, and Gravitation. New York: Pergamon Press, 1959.Google Scholar
[12] Friedman, M. “Foundations of Space-Time Theories.” (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Princeton, 1972)Google Scholar
[13] Hanson, N. R. “Newton's First Law; A Philosopher's Door Into Natural Philosophy.” in Beyond the Edge of Certainty. Edited by Colodny, R. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1965.Google Scholar
[14] Havas, P. “The Connection between Conservation Laws and Laws of Motion in Affine Spaces.” Journal of Mathematical Physics 5 (1964): 373–378.10.1063/1.1704129CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[15] Havas, P. “Four-Dimensional Formulations of Newtonian Mechanics and Their Relations to the Special and General Theory of Relativity.” Reviews of Modern Physics 36 (1964): 938–965.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[16] Hawking, S. W. “The existence of cosmic time functions.” In Proceedings of the Royal Society. London, 1968. Pages 433–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[17] Heller, M. “Mach's Principle and Differentiable Manifolds.” Acta Physica Polonica B1 (1970): 131–138.Google Scholar
[18] Herivel, J. The Background to Newton's “Principia.” Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963.Google Scholar
[19] Hood, C. G. “A Reformulation of Newtonian Dynamics.” American Journal of Physics 38 (1970): 438–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[20] Hunt, I. E. and Suchting, W. E. “Force and ‘Natural Motion’.” Philosophy of Science 36 (1969): 233–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[21] Jammer, M. Concepts of Force. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1957.Google Scholar
[22] Koslow, A. “The Law of Inertia: Some Remarks on Its Structure and Significance.” in Philosophy, Science, and Method. Edited by Morgenbesser, S., White, M. and Suppes, P. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1969.Google Scholar
[23] Koyré, A. Newtonian Studies. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1965.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[24] M⊘ller, C. The Theory of Relativity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1962.Google Scholar
[25] M⊘ller, C. “Selected Problems in General Relativity.” In Brandeis University Summer Institute in Theoretical Physics: Lectures in Theoretical Physics, 1960.Google Scholar
[26] Newton, I. “The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.” in Sir Isaac Newton's Mathematical Principles. Edited by Cajori, F. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1960.Google Scholar
[27] Osvath, I. and Schücking, E. L. “The Finite Rotating Universe.” Annals of Physics 55 (1969): 166–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[28] Robertson, H. P. and Noonan, T. W. Relativity and Cosmology. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1968.Google Scholar
[29] Schwebel, S. L. “Mach's Principle and Newtonian Mechanics.” International Journal of Theoretical Physics 3 (1970): 145–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[30] Trautman, A. “Sur la théorie newtonian de la gravitation.” Comptes Rendus A257 (1963): 617–620.Google Scholar
[31] Trautman, A. “Foundations and Current Problems of General Relativity.” in Lectures on General Relativity. Edited by Deser, S. and Ford, K. W. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1965.Google Scholar
[32] Trautman, A. “Comparison of Newtonian and Relativistic Theories of Space-Time.” in Perspectives in Geometry and Relativity. Edited by Hoffman, B. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967.Google Scholar
[33] Wheeler, J. A. and Taylor, E. F. Space-Time Physics. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1966.Google Scholar
[34] Yimalz, H. Introduction to the Theory of Relativity and the Principles of Modern Physics. New York: Blaisdell Publishing Co., 1965.Google Scholar
[35] Zanstra, H. “A Study of Relative Motion in Connection With Classical Mechanics.” Physical Review 23 (1924): 528–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar