Newton and action at a distance between bodies—A response to Andrew Janiak's “Three concepts of causation in Newton” |
| |
| Authors: | John Henry |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Knowledge Integration, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L3G1, Canada;2. Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L3G1, Canada;3. Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, Arizona State University, 1120 S Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-5603, USA;1. Department of Philosophy and Education, University of Turin, Italy;2. Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Italy |
| |
| Abstract: | This article responds to Professor Andrew Janiak's recent attempt to defend the proposition that Isaac Newton did not believe in action at a distance between bodies (or any other kind of substance) (Janiak, 2013). His argument rests on a distinction between “three concepts of causation in Newton”, which leads him to conclude that although Newton did not believe in action at a distance between bodies, he was able to accept that gravity was a “distant action”. I critically examine Janiak's arguments here, and the historical evidence he brings to bear upon it, and argue that Professor Janiak's latest claims do nothing to undermine the view to which he is opposed, namely, that Newton did believe in the possibility of action at a distance between bodies. |
| |
| Keywords: | Andrew Janiak Isaac Newton Action at a distance Force Gravity Substance |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
