Newton’s substance monism, distant action, and the nature of Newton’s empiricism: discussion of H. Kochiras “Gravity and Newton’s substance counting problem”

Schliesser, Eric

doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2010.11.004

Cited by 33 publications

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“…Newton, according to Kochiras, claims that God is a virtual omnipresent, the force/agent must subsist in substance, and God is omnipresent substantially, resulting in a hidden premise, the principle of local action. Eric Schliesser, in Newton's substance monism, distant action, and the nature of Newton's Empiricism, (Schliesser 2011) argued that Newton does not categorically refuse the idea that matter is active, and therefore accepted the possibility of a direct action at a distance.…”

Section: Newton's Action At a Distance -Different Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Newton's Action at a Distance – Different Views

Sfetcu¹

2023

SSRN Journal

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Section: Newton's Action At a Distance -Different Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Newton's Action at a Distance – Different Views

Sfetcu¹

2023

SSRN Journal

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“…Hall and Hall suggest that God’s omnipresence allowed Newton to abandon the aether hypothesis, providing ‘an antithetic to his aetherism’ (1995, 79). For a different – Spinozistic – interpretation, see Schliesser (2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

John Locke, ‘Hobbist’: of sleeping souls and thinking matter

Dempsey

2017

Can. J. of Philosophy

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In this paper, I consider Isaac Newton’s fevered accusation that John Locke is a ‘Hobbist.’ I suggest a number of ways in which Locke’s account of the mind–body relation could plausibly be construed as Hobbesian. Whereas Newton conceives of the human mind as an immaterial substance and venerates it as a finite image of the Divine Mind, I argue that Locke utterly deflates the religious, ethical, and metaphysical significance of an immaterial soul. Even stronger, I contend that there is good reason to suspect that Locke is a crypto-materialist, at least with respect to human beings, and in this respect, could reasonably be labeled a ‘Hobbist.’

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“…8 8 This is not to deny that God plays no causal role for Spinoza; God is the cause of the being of things, including the material ones (see Schliesser 2010a). I understand Newton's doctrine of substantial omnipresence in the General Scholium along similar lines (for details see Schliesser 2011b). …”

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“…20 20 I have argued that matter is active according to Newton in Schliesser 2010b and Schliesser 2011b. …”

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Newton and Spinoza: On Motion and Matter (And God, of Course)

Schliesser

2012

The Southern J of Philosophy

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This study explores several arguments against Spinoza's philosophy that were developed by Henry More, Samuel Clarke, and Colin Maclaurin. In the arguments on which I focus, More, Clarke, and Maclaurin aim to establish the existence of an immaterial and intelligent God precisely by showing that Spinoza does not have the resources to adequately explain the origin of motion. Attending to these criticisms grants us a deeper appreciation for how the authority derived from the empirical success of Newton's enterprise was used to settle debates within philosophy. What I emphasize is that in the progression from More to Clarke to Maclaurin, key Newtonian concepts from the Principia (1687), such as motion, atomism, and the vacuum, are introduced and exploited in order to challenge the account of matter and motion that is presented in Spinoza's Ethics (1677). Building on this treatment, I use the arguments from More and Clarke especially to help discern the anti-Spinozism that can be detected in Newton's General Scholium (1713). Ultimately, the Newtonian criticisms that I detail offer us a more nuanced view of the problems that plague Spinoza's philosophy, and they also challenge the idea that Spinoza seamlessly fits into a progressive narrative about the scientific revolution.

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Newton’s substance monism, distant action, and the nature of Newton’s empiricism: discussion of H. Kochiras “Gravity and Newton’s substance counting problem”

Cited by 33 publications

References 11 publications

Newton's Action at a Distance – Different Views

Newton's Action at a Distance – Different Views

John Locke, ‘Hobbist’: of sleeping souls and thinking matter

Newton and Spinoza: On Motion and Matter (And God, of Course)

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