Isaac Newton: Adventurer in Thought

by A. Rupert Hall , Preface by David Knight

• ISBN13: 9780521566698
• ISBN10: 052156669X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-04-26
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In this elegant, absorbing biography of Isaac Newton (1642–1727), Rupert Hall surveys the vast field of modern scholarship in order to interpret Newton’s mathematical and experimental approach to nature. Mathematics was always the deepest, most innovative and productive of Newton’s interests. However, he was also a historian, theologian, chemist, civil servant, and natural philosopher. These diverse studies were unified in his single design as a Christian to explore every facet of God’s creation. The story of Newton’s life and discoveries has been greatly altered by exploration of his huge manuscript legacy during the last forty years, throwing new light upon his personality and intellect. Hall’s discussion of this research shows that Newton cannot simply be explained as a Platonist, mystic, or magus. He remains a complex and enigmatic genius with an immensely imaginative and commonsensical mind.

Table of Contents

General editor's preface

Preface

1. The hopeful youth, 1642-1664

2. 'The prime of my age for invention', 1664-1667

3. Widening horizons, 1667-1669

4. The professor of mathematics, 1669-1673

5. Publication and polemic, 1672-1678

6. Life in Cambridge, 1675-1685

7. The chemical philosopher, 1669-1695

8. The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1679-1687

9. Private and public life, 1685-1696

10. Fluxions and fury, 1677-1712

11. Opticks, or a Treatise of Light, 1687-1718

12. Life in London, 1696-1718

13. A man of authority and learning, 1692-1727

14. Later books, 1706-1726

15. Kensington, 1725-1727

Appendices

Notes

Bibliography

Index.