PROBLEM. The treatise is devoted to the reconstruction of our 'instinctive beliefs' in classical mechanics and to present them 'as much isolated and as free from irrelevant additions as possible'. The same motivation has driven many authors since the publication of Newton's Principia. IMPORTANCE. Classical mechanics will remain the basic reference and tool for mechanics on terrestrial and planetary scale as well as the proto-theory of relativistic and quantum mechanics. But it can only serve its purpose if it is not considered as obsolete, but if its foundations and implications are understood and made 'absolutely' clear. METHOD. Based on the 'instinctive belief' that the foundations of classical mechanics cannot be found and reconstructed within mechanics itself but only 'outside', classical mechanics is 'understood' by embedding it into an adequate theory of knowledge and adequate proto- and meta-theories in terms of the 'language of dynamics'. Evidence is produced that available philosophical expositions are not adequate for the purpose at hand. Mechanics is treated as part of physics, not of mathematics. Not sophisticated mathematical artifacts, necessary for solving specific problems, but the intellectually satisfactory foundation of mechanics in general is subject and purpose of the exercise. The goal is reached using axiomatic systems as models. SCOPE. Following an account of the unsatisfactory state of affairs the treatise covers the epistemological foundations, abstract proto-mechanics, i. e. the theories of time and space, meta-mechanics, i. e. the theories of state space models and of quantities proper, and, as an instance of the latter, abstract elementary mechanics, the theory of translational motions of 'small' solid bodies in three-dimensional Euclidean space, including classical general relativity. Subsequently the theory of classical kinematics is developed as basis for interpreted proto-mechanics and interpreted elementary mechanics. As an amus

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This book challenges the traditional historiography of the Scientific Revolution, probably the single most important unifying concept in the history of science. Usually referring to the period from Copernicus to Newton (roughly 1500 to 1700), the Scientific Revolution is considered to be the central episode in the history of science, the historical moment at which that unique way of looking at the world that we call 'modern science' and its attendant institutions emerged. It has been taken as the terminus a quo of all that followed. Starting with a dialogue between Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs and Richard S. Westfall, whose understanding of the Scientific Revolution differed in important ways, the papers in this volume reconsider canonical figures, their areas of study, and the formation of disciplinary boundaries during this seminal period of European intellectual history.

Edmond Halley (1656-1742), MA, LLD, FRS, Capt. RN, Savillian Professor of Geometry and Astronomer Royal, stands pre-eminent among Oxford, English, and European scientists. A contemporary of Wren, Pepys, Hooke, Handel, Purcell, and Dryden, he was a schoolboy in London while the Great Fireraged, and was an active participant in the Enlightenment, an age of profound developments in all the arts and sciences. As a younger contemporary of Isaac Newton, he had a crucial part in the Newtonian revolution in the natural sciences. It was Halley who set the question that led Newton to writethe Principia, and who edited, paid for, and reviewed it. In later years he applied the methods of the Principia widely in astronomy and geophysics. Now more widely known for his prediction of the return of "his" comet, Halley discovered the proper motion of stars, made important studies of themoon's motion, and his investigations of the Earth's magnetic field and of tides were unrialled for centuries. His prediction of the transit of Venus led to Cook's voyage to Tahiti. He was far more than an cloistered academic; his exploits as a naval captain led to perilous adventures, and he wasalso a notable servant of the State. Much material about his eventful career has come to light in recent years, making this a timely new account of the life, scientific interests, and continuing influence of this engaging and adventurous scholar. Sir Alan Cook has written a fascinating andilluminating account of Halley's life and science, making this a unique and highly readable biography of one of the key figures of his time.

Reading Newton in Early Modern Europe investigates how Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia was read, interpreted and remodelled for a variety of readerships in eighteenth-century Europe. The editors, Mordechai Feingold and Elizabethanne Boran, have brought together papers which explore how, when, where and why the Principia was appropriated by readers in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England and Ireland. Particular focus is laid on the methods of transmission of Newtonian ideas via university textbooks and popular works written for educated laymen and women. At the same time, challenges to the Newtonian consensus are explored by writers such as Marius Stan and Catherine Abou-Nemeh who examine Cartesian and Leibnizian responses to the Principia. Eighteenth-century attempts to remodel Newton as a heretic are explored by Feingold, while William R. Newman draws attention to vital new sources highlighting the importance of alchemy to Newton. Contributors are: Catherine Abou-Nemeh, Claudia Addabbo, Elizabethanne Boran, Steffen Ducheyne, Moredechai Feingold, Sarah Hutton, Juan Navarro-Loidi, William R. Newman, Luc Peterschmitt, Anna Marie Roos, Marius Stan, and Gerhard Wiesenfeldt.