It could certainly be argued that the way in which Hegel criticizes Newton in the Dissertation, the Philosophy of Nature and the lectures on the History of Philosophy, has done more than anything else to prejudice his own reputation. At first sight, what we seem to have here is little more than the contrast between the tested accomplishments of the founding father of modern science, and the random remarks of a confused and somewhat disgruntled philosopher; and if we are persuaded to concede that it may perhaps be something more than this - between the work of a clearsighted mathematician and experimentalist, and the blind assertions of some sort of Kantian logician, blundering about among the facts of the real world. By and large, it was this clear-cut simplistic view of the matter which prevailed among Hegel's contemporaries, and which persisted until fairly recently. The modification and eventual transformation of it have come about gradually, over the past twenty or twenty-five years. The first full-scale commentary on the Philosophy of Nature was published in 1970, and gave rise to the realization that to some extent at least, the Hegelian criticism was directed against Newtonianism rather than the work of Newton himself, and that it tended to draw its inspiration from developments within the natural sciences, rather than from the exigencies imposed upon Hegel's thinking by a priori categorial relationships.

Klappentext

This is the first comprehensive survey of the way in which Hegel reacted to the pervasive Newtonianism of his day. Various eighteenth century developments in metaphysics, the foundations of mathematics, mechanics, optics and chemistry are considered, together with Hegel's assessment of them. It becomes apparent that the criticism he levels at several of the prevailing attitudes of his day assumes a new significance once a proper distinction is drawn between Newton's own views and those of his professed followers. One of the most remarkable results of the survey is the way in which it brings out the basic convergence of many of Hegel's views with those of the historical Newton. The work is rounded off with a fully annotated bibliography of the relevant sections of Hegel's private library. br/

Inhalt
One: Metaphysics.- 1. Metaphysics and Scientific Proof: Newton and Hegel.- 2. The Conflict between Newton's Analysis of Configurations and Hegel's Conceptual Analysis.- 3. Analysis, Synthesis and Dialectic: Hegel's Answer to Aristotle, Newton and Kant.- 4. Gravity, Polarity and Dialectical Method.- 5. Hegel on the Interaction between Science and Philosophy.- 6. Hegel's Interpretation of Classical Mechanics.- 7. The Philosophical Background to Hegel's Criticism of Newton.- 8. The Logic of Hegel's Philosophy of Nature.- 9. Defending Hegel's Philosophy of Nature.- 10. Newton and Hegel: Can Science Explain the Scientist?.- 11. Newton's Pantokrator and Hegel's Absolute Mind.- Two: Mathematics.- 12. The Method of Exhaustion as a Model for the Calculus.- 13. Hegel on Greek Mathematics and the Modern Calculus.- 14. Newton and British Newtonians on the Foundations of the Calculus.- 15. The Dialectical Structure of Zeno's Arguments.- 16. Hegel's Heritage in Applied Mathematics: A Plurality of Traditions.- 17. Hegel on Mathematics and Experimental Science.- Three: Mechanics.- 18. Inertial and Gravitational Mass: Newton, Hegel and Modern Physics.- 19. The Problem of Mass in Hegel.- 20. Pendulums in Newtonian Mechanics.- 21. Classifying the Motion: Hegel on the Pendulum.- 22. The Problem of Falling Bodies from Galilei to Lagrange.- 23. Hegel on Galilei's Law of Fall.- Four: Celestial Mechanics.- 24. Eighteenth-Century Conceptions of Gravitation.- 25. Hegel's Treatment of Universal Gravitation.- 26. The Concept of Force in Eighteenth-Century Mechanics.- 27. Hegel's Rejection of the Concept of Force.- 28. Universal Gravitation from Elliptical Orbits.- 29. A Worm in Newton's Apple.- 30. The Significance of Kepler's Laws.- Five: Optics.- 31. The EarlyDebate Concerning Wave-Theory.- 32. Hegel on Mechanistic Models of Light.- 33. Newton's Rejection of the Modification Theory of Colour.- 34. Hegel' s Exposition of Goethe's Theory of Colour.- 35. Newton's Colour-Theory and Perception.- 36. Hegel on Shadows and the Blue of the Sky.- Six: Chemistry.- 37. Newtonian Atomism and Eighteenth-Century Chemistry.- 38. Chemistry and Hegel's Logic.- 39. Newton and Eighteenth-Century Conceptions of Chemical Affinity.- 40. The Significance of Hegel's Treatment of Chemical Affinity.- 41. Is Nature Conformable to Herself?.- 42. Hegel on Chemistry and the Organic Sciences.- Seven: Bibliographical.- 43. Hegel's Library: The Works on Mathematics, Mechanics, Optics and Chemistry.- 44. Hegel's Library: The Newton Editions.- About the Authors.- Abbreviations.