Newton's "Principles of Philosophy": an intended preface for the 1704 "Opticks" and a related draft fragment

Abstract

The evolution of science in the 17th and 18th century shares many traits with modern science. Philosophers sought unity and certainty in knowledge of diverse natural phenomena, advancing mathematical and experimental techniques to achieve this goal. Isaac Newton’s writings around 1700 provide a window into the philosophical underpinnings of early modern science. His intended preface to the 1704 edition of his Opticks, and an accompanying fragment on methodology, reveals his approach to the study of nature. For Newton, the foundation of ‘sound philosophy’ was the careful formulation of a small set of basic explanatory principles or ‘axioms’ from empirical observations. Notably, Newton believed that the same approach underlay both his work in celestial mechanics, as presented in the Principia, and his optical studies in the Opticks, leading to a rejection of the ‘dichotomy’ between these two major works. His pursuit of ‘Principles of Philosophy’ went hand in hand with Newton’s methodological emphasis on careful composition and resolution of observations, experiments, and conclusions, akin to the mathematical techniques of analysis and synthesis. – AI-generated abstract.