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The Newtonian Moment: Isaac Newton and the Making of Modern Culture
Isaac Newton is a legendary figure whose mythical dimension threatens to overshadow the actual man. The story of the apple falling from the tree may or may not be true, but Isaac Newton's revolutionary discoveries and their importance to the Enlightenment era and beyond are undeniable. The
Newtonian Moment , a companion volume to a forthcoming exhibition by the New York Public Library, investigates the effect that Newton's theories and discoveries had, not only on the growth of science, but also on the very shape of modern culture and thought.
Newton's scientific work at Cambridge was groundbreaking. From his optical experiments with prisms during the 1660s to the publication of both Principia (1687) and Opticks (1704), Newton's achievements were widely disseminated, inciting tremendous interest and excitement. Newtonianism
developed into a worldview marked by many between modernity and the old guard, between the humanities and science, and the public battles between great minds. The Newtonian Moment illuminates the many facets of his colossal accomplishments, as well as the debates over the kind of knowledge
that his accomplishments engendered. The book contributes to a greater understanding of the world today by offering a panoramic view of the profound impact of Newtonianism on the science, literature, art, and religion of the Enlightenment.
Copiously illustrated with items drawn from the collections of the New York Public Library as well as numerous other libraries and museums, The Newtonian Moment enlightens its audience with a guided and in-depth look at the man, his world, and his enduring legacy.
Newtonian Moment , a companion volume to a forthcoming exhibition by the New York Public Library, investigates the effect that Newton's theories and discoveries had, not only on the growth of science, but also on the very shape of modern culture and thought.
Newton's scientific work at Cambridge was groundbreaking. From his optical experiments with prisms during the 1660s to the publication of both Principia (1687) and Opticks (1704), Newton's achievements were widely disseminated, inciting tremendous interest and excitement. Newtonianism
developed into a worldview marked by many between modernity and the old guard, between the humanities and science, and the public battles between great minds. The Newtonian Moment illuminates the many facets of his colossal accomplishments, as well as the debates over the kind of knowledge
that his accomplishments engendered. The book contributes to a greater understanding of the world today by offering a panoramic view of the profound impact of Newtonianism on the science, literature, art, and religion of the Enlightenment.
Copiously illustrated with items drawn from the collections of the New York Public Library as well as numerous other libraries and museums, The Newtonian Moment enlightens its audience with a guided and in-depth look at the man, his world, and his enduring legacy.
Paperback
First published December 30, 2004
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About the author
Mordechai Feingold
62 books4 followersMordechai Feingold (D.Phil., University of Oxford, 1980; M.A., 1976; B.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1972) is an intellectual and institutional historian of science, from the Renaissance to the eighteenth century, and has served as Kate Van Nuys Page Professor of the History of Science and the Humanities at Caltech since 2019. Previously he was Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.
His research focuses on how the rise of modern science has transformed Western culture from a humanistic, religious, and unified culture during the sixteenth century into a scientific, technological, secular, and fragmented one by the nineteenth century.
His research focuses on how the rise of modern science has transformed Western culture from a humanistic, religious, and unified culture during the sixteenth century into a scientific, technological, secular, and fragmented one by the nineteenth century.
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May 29, 2024
Book review: The Newtonian Moment, Isaac Newton and the Making of Modern Culture
For the New York Public Library exhibition on Isaac Newton (Oct 2004- Feb 2005)
A lush companion piece book by Mordechai Feingold, was published. It’s large 8 x10 glossy format and with over 160 illustrations puts it in the coffee table class. But it is also for the serious history reader as its 25 pages of notes, references and indices attest.
Newton was born January 4, 1643 Gregorian calendar in in a rural England. (Wikipedia using Julian calendar cites him being born in December 25,1642 and living to 20 March 1726, and Galileo died a couple weeks after Newton’s birth on January 8, 1642). Newton died March 20,1727 at 84 years old.
At an early age a teacher at a local school recognized his unusual intelligence and encouraged his mother to send him to Cambridge—which she reluctantly did. In 1661at age 18 he was admitted to Trinity College at Cambridge and obtained a degree in 1665. In 1669 he was held the Lucasian professorship of mathematics. In 1696 after 35 years at Cambridge he left and assumed a job as Warden of the Royal Mint.
At Cambridge he followed a scholastic program with such subjects as logic, Latin and rhetoric. He studied extensively the science and mathematics books of the era under the mentorship of Isaac Barrow, philosopher and mathematician. He read everything from Euclid to Descartes. He was driven by a search for knowledge and devoted his whole life to study and learning. He never married.
Newton made contributions to the theory of optics and invented the reflecting telescope. Even building a model that attracted immediate recognition of his ability. He invented differential calculus and published what is considered the greatest scientific book of all times, The Principia, that defined the science of mechanics and planetary physics, and presented to the world the concept of gravity. He established that the orbits of planets are ellipses, and the shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid. The Principia was based on empirical results of experiments and observations.
Newton engaged in lively debates with followers of Descartes whose model of the solar system stipulated space was filled with a substance to push the heavenly bodies in their travels. Descartes’s thinking was an artifact of the scholastic method of developing knowledge that started with the belief that theological or philosophical concepts had to underlie scientific principles. Descartes started from a philosophical notion that every action or motion had to have a cause, ergo the planets could not move in a vacuum without any apparent force to propel them—and, of course, he got the wrong answer!
Newton said he didn’t care if he did not know what gravity was or how it acted through a vacuum. If the observed motion of celestial bodies, was repeatable and followed mathematical laws, Newton considered it to be scientifically true. He called this phenomena the Law of Universal Gravitation.
Leibnitz, an advocate of Descartes’s astronomy, called Newton’s approach “Occult” because it could operate in a vacuum, where there was no apparent cause making heavenly bodies move. There were other diehard Cartesians who disputed Newtonian Physics—and the disputes went on for years. One reason for slow acceptance being that the Principia, written in Latin, packed with new mathematical and technical concepts, was a difficult read.
On the continent, where there was strong support for Descartes’s astronomy at the time the Principia was published, there was nonetheless a small but growing acceptance of Newtonian physics and astronomical concepts. Translations that were more accessible intellectually eventually facilitated this process. Voltaire, for example, published two books entitled: Letters on Descartes and Elements of Newton’s Philosophy, which were widely read on the continent—and having been written by a non-scientist, were accessible to a wide range of people without scientific education at the university level. Accordingly, Voltaire is widely credited with accelerating the spread of Newton’s influence to areas outside of mathematics and mechanics in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Newtonian physics represented a break with scholasticism wherein knowledge is deduced from religious or philosophical foundations of belief, Newtonian science proceeded without a philosophical or theological basis. It was enough to observe nature, measure its attributes, and define its mathematical or logical structure to build new knowledge that could be relied upon as truth—that is, until additional scientific work changes or refines it. This scientific method is the basis for the explosion of scientific and social advancements begun in the 18th century and continuing today.
Just as Newton had discovered the Law of Universal Gravitation through reason without building upon theological or philosophical concepts, there began a search for foundational principles, analogous to The Law of Universal Gravitation, in many other realms of knowledge. Adam Smith for example found analogous universal principles in economics such as, self-interest and self-regulating markets. Likewise, Jeremy Bentham’s maxim found “The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong.” as a universal principle of human behavior. Thomas Jefferson another admirer used “the invocation of ‘Laws of Nature’ ” in the preamble of the American Constitution. Ben Franklin had a portrait of himself painted with a bust of Newton in the background—Newtonianism now in politics!
The thought popped into my mind: Does the triumph of science in so many areas of modern life mean that only knowledge obtained through observation of the natural world (scientific method) have relevance in today’s world? Cardinal Ratzinger in his book, Introduction to Christianity, expressed it thusly, “In our time, through the investigation of the mathematical construction of matter and the way it can be conceived and evaluated in mathematical terms, this insight has gained an amazing solidity.” He goes on to cite Einstein having said, “once that in the laws of nature an intelligence so superior is revealed that in comparison all the significance of human thinking and human reflections is a completely worthless reflection.” Now that sounds a bit harsh, as it apparently relegates religion to the realm of “worthless reflection”. However, in his article from Ideas and Opinions, entitled Science and Religion, Einstein sees a role for religion when he says, “To make clear these fundamental ends and valuations…seems to me precisely the most important function which religion has to perform in the social life of man.”
In summary, I found this book to be valuable resource in that it not only described Newton and his great scientific achievements, but it provided background understanding of the continuing struggle between faith and reason that still appears today at many level of human relationships.
For the New York Public Library exhibition on Isaac Newton (Oct 2004- Feb 2005)
A lush companion piece book by Mordechai Feingold, was published. It’s large 8 x10 glossy format and with over 160 illustrations puts it in the coffee table class. But it is also for the serious history reader as its 25 pages of notes, references and indices attest.
Newton was born January 4, 1643 Gregorian calendar in in a rural England. (Wikipedia using Julian calendar cites him being born in December 25,1642 and living to 20 March 1726, and Galileo died a couple weeks after Newton’s birth on January 8, 1642). Newton died March 20,1727 at 84 years old.
At an early age a teacher at a local school recognized his unusual intelligence and encouraged his mother to send him to Cambridge—which she reluctantly did. In 1661at age 18 he was admitted to Trinity College at Cambridge and obtained a degree in 1665. In 1669 he was held the Lucasian professorship of mathematics. In 1696 after 35 years at Cambridge he left and assumed a job as Warden of the Royal Mint.
At Cambridge he followed a scholastic program with such subjects as logic, Latin and rhetoric. He studied extensively the science and mathematics books of the era under the mentorship of Isaac Barrow, philosopher and mathematician. He read everything from Euclid to Descartes. He was driven by a search for knowledge and devoted his whole life to study and learning. He never married.
Newton made contributions to the theory of optics and invented the reflecting telescope. Even building a model that attracted immediate recognition of his ability. He invented differential calculus and published what is considered the greatest scientific book of all times, The Principia, that defined the science of mechanics and planetary physics, and presented to the world the concept of gravity. He established that the orbits of planets are ellipses, and the shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid. The Principia was based on empirical results of experiments and observations.
Newton engaged in lively debates with followers of Descartes whose model of the solar system stipulated space was filled with a substance to push the heavenly bodies in their travels. Descartes’s thinking was an artifact of the scholastic method of developing knowledge that started with the belief that theological or philosophical concepts had to underlie scientific principles. Descartes started from a philosophical notion that every action or motion had to have a cause, ergo the planets could not move in a vacuum without any apparent force to propel them—and, of course, he got the wrong answer!
Newton said he didn’t care if he did not know what gravity was or how it acted through a vacuum. If the observed motion of celestial bodies, was repeatable and followed mathematical laws, Newton considered it to be scientifically true. He called this phenomena the Law of Universal Gravitation.
Leibnitz, an advocate of Descartes’s astronomy, called Newton’s approach “Occult” because it could operate in a vacuum, where there was no apparent cause making heavenly bodies move. There were other diehard Cartesians who disputed Newtonian Physics—and the disputes went on for years. One reason for slow acceptance being that the Principia, written in Latin, packed with new mathematical and technical concepts, was a difficult read.
On the continent, where there was strong support for Descartes’s astronomy at the time the Principia was published, there was nonetheless a small but growing acceptance of Newtonian physics and astronomical concepts. Translations that were more accessible intellectually eventually facilitated this process. Voltaire, for example, published two books entitled: Letters on Descartes and Elements of Newton’s Philosophy, which were widely read on the continent—and having been written by a non-scientist, were accessible to a wide range of people without scientific education at the university level. Accordingly, Voltaire is widely credited with accelerating the spread of Newton’s influence to areas outside of mathematics and mechanics in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Newtonian physics represented a break with scholasticism wherein knowledge is deduced from religious or philosophical foundations of belief, Newtonian science proceeded without a philosophical or theological basis. It was enough to observe nature, measure its attributes, and define its mathematical or logical structure to build new knowledge that could be relied upon as truth—that is, until additional scientific work changes or refines it. This scientific method is the basis for the explosion of scientific and social advancements begun in the 18th century and continuing today.
Just as Newton had discovered the Law of Universal Gravitation through reason without building upon theological or philosophical concepts, there began a search for foundational principles, analogous to The Law of Universal Gravitation, in many other realms of knowledge. Adam Smith for example found analogous universal principles in economics such as, self-interest and self-regulating markets. Likewise, Jeremy Bentham’s maxim found “The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong.” as a universal principle of human behavior. Thomas Jefferson another admirer used “the invocation of ‘Laws of Nature’ ” in the preamble of the American Constitution. Ben Franklin had a portrait of himself painted with a bust of Newton in the background—Newtonianism now in politics!
The thought popped into my mind: Does the triumph of science in so many areas of modern life mean that only knowledge obtained through observation of the natural world (scientific method) have relevance in today’s world? Cardinal Ratzinger in his book, Introduction to Christianity, expressed it thusly, “In our time, through the investigation of the mathematical construction of matter and the way it can be conceived and evaluated in mathematical terms, this insight has gained an amazing solidity.” He goes on to cite Einstein having said, “once that in the laws of nature an intelligence so superior is revealed that in comparison all the significance of human thinking and human reflections is a completely worthless reflection.” Now that sounds a bit harsh, as it apparently relegates religion to the realm of “worthless reflection”. However, in his article from Ideas and Opinions, entitled Science and Religion, Einstein sees a role for religion when he says, “To make clear these fundamental ends and valuations…seems to me precisely the most important function which religion has to perform in the social life of man.”
In summary, I found this book to be valuable resource in that it not only described Newton and his great scientific achievements, but it provided background understanding of the continuing struggle between faith and reason that still appears today at many level of human relationships.
December 15, 2017
Catalog of an exhibit at the NYPL showcasing the pervasive influence Newton had in sometimes unexpected arenas. He supplanted Descartes as the western world's leading intellectual early in his career although there were still defenders of the frenchman's cosmic vortices despite Newton's firmer mathematical footing with his discovery of gravity. Descartes came up with his metaphysical notions first and then worked to construct their foundation whereas Newton famously looked at the world around him to develop his explanations both regarding local and planetary motion and optics. Also touched on the battle between Newton and his defenders and Leipzig and his as to who invented the calculus. Learned new information about girls and women and how they took up the craze for all things scientific in the 18th c. but were frequently treated in a condescending manner and belittled but some still managed to break through and demonstrate real talent and insight, usually those who didn't have brothers and with fathers who encouraged them. Jefferson and Franklin were big admirers and Jefferson was in possession of one of Newton's death masks. One complaint, the reproductions of the art were not the best in this paperback edition.
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