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Reading the Principia Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2010
The Principia was to remain a classic fossilized, on the wrong side of the frontier between past and future in the application of mathematics to physics.
The problem
Principia as a plural
Newton's magnum opus bears a title which is both imposing and perplexing. Undoubtedly, the great achievement referred to in the title consists in the application of ‘mathematical principles’ to the physical world, or better to ‘natural philosophy’. However, when we ask ourselves which, and how many, are Newton's mathematical principles, the answer does not come so easily. We know much more about the natural philosophy. Many scholars have taught us about the laws of motion, absolute time and space, the law of universal gravitation, the cosmology of void and matter. The names of I. Bernard Cohen, Richard Westfall, Rupert Hall and John Herivel come immediately to the mind of any historian of science. But, from the point of view considered in my research, Tom Whiteside comes first.
In his many papers, but especially in the critical apparatus of the sixth volume of ‘his’ Mathematical Papers, Whiteside has given a profound and detailed analysis of Newton's mathematical natural philosophy. As a study of Newton's mathematical achievements in the Principia Whiteside's studies will endure and this book has not been written to replace them. Actually, I began the research which led to this book by reading and following Whiteside's studies.
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