Newton

FIGURE 3.4. The frontis piece to Voltaire’s Elemens de la philosophie de Newton (1738). Newton transmits the divine light of the heavens to Voltaire by way of Madame de Chatelet, the French translator of Newton’s ‘Principia Mathematica’ and Voltaire’s mistress. Florida State University Libraries, Special Collection and Archives.

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Dinesh ^club

Kant gave eloquent expression to the eighteenth century’s wonder before the prodigies of nature and mankind. But he departed from the norm in confining his perplexity exclusively to the makers of art. In Kant’s idiosyncratic view, those who were able to give a reasoned account of the step they took to achieve their discoveries could not be qualified as ‘geniuss.’ This precluded scientists, among others, and Kant singled out the century’s greatest example -- Isaac Newton -- to illustrate the point. Newton’s enormous achievement could be studied and learned -- imitated -- by a diligent person, and Newton himself “could show every one of the steps he had to take in order to get . . . to his great and profound discoveries.” Kant said. But a great poet like Homer could nevr “show how his ideas, rich in fancy and yet also in thought, arise and meet in his mind.” In Kant’s view, the mystery of the creative process that gave rise to original production was genius’s distinguishing trait. And so, despite his enormous respect for natural science in general, and Newton in particular, he confined the illustrious title of “genius” to the arts. ` Page 97

3 years ago. Edited 14 months ago.

Dinesh ^club

Isaac Newton is, of course, known as one of the greatest sceintists of all time, but his theological and chronological writings have become the focus of increasing attention. They amount to more than half a million words and are in great par still unpublished; but their study points to a central “Ur-tradition” pattern in Newton’s worldview. For example, modern specialists point out that “it can be shown how Newton regarded his natural philosophy as an integral part of th radical and compensive recovery of the true ancient religion, which had been revealed directly to man by God” (Gouk 1988) that Newton tried to prove “that his scientific work in the ‘Principa’ was a rediscovery of the mystical philosophy which had passed to the Egyptians and the Greeks from the Jews” (Rattansi 1988); and that the great scientists “believed that alchemical writings preserved a secret knowledge which had been revealed by God”. Newton apparently saw himself asa ‘regenerator’ of an ‘Ur-wisdom’ that had been encoded in symbols and transmitted through dark and degenerate ages by a line of eminent men (patriarchs). . . . Page 261

14 months ago. Edited 14 months ago.

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