Newton’s Philosophical Theology and Natural Philosophy in Correspondence with Richard Bentley
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3986/fv.45.3.08Keywords:
Richard Bentley, Isaac Newton, intelligent agent, gravity, action at a distanceAbstract
In the article, the author presents the circumstances of the correspondence between the theologian and classicist Richard Bentley and the philosopher Isaac Newton. In his eight Boyle Lectures, entitled A Confutation of Atheism, Bentley used many thoughts and observations, or their derivations, from Newton’s The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, but as he was not entirely sure whether he understood them well enough, he turned to Newton with a request for further clarification. In his answers, Newton explains some fundamental elements of his philosophical theology or metaphysics and natural philosophy, especially about the role and action of God in the creation and arrangement of the world. Both Bentley and Newton are convinced that the world was created by an “intelligent agent.” Another important aspect of the correspondence is represented by Newton’s thoughts on gravity, or, to put it another way, the question of whether gravity is inherent in matter or not, and on the possibility of bodies acting at a distance.
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