![]() Newton’s description of a constant ebbing and flowing of heavenly matter expresses an organic, alchemical vision of the world. ![]() Gradually into the form of salts, and sulphurs, and tinctures,Īnd mud, and clay, and sand, and stones, and coral, and other Water and humid spirits and from thence, by slow heat, pass Of planets by their gravity, and there be condensed and turned into Of comets, may meet at last with, and fall into, the atmospheres The vapors which arise from the sun, the fixed stars, and the tails Gravity, the great unifier, the physical expression of God in the world, orchestrated change and transformation throughout the cosmos: Newton’s lyrical vision of matter’s recycling through stars, planets, and comets blended his mechanical science and alchemical explorations. For example, in Book III of The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, the book that explained Newton’s new mechanics and universal gravity to the world, Newton speculates on the generation, decay, and regeneration of cosmic matter. We can easily find the influence of alchemy and theology in Newton’s writings. His science was a product of this belief, an expression of his rational mysticism, a bridge between the human and the Divine. It is no exaggeration to say that his life was one long search for God, one long search for communion with the Divine Intelligence, which Newton believed endowed the Universe with the beauty and order manifest in nature. But that is only half the story - for Newton saw the Universe as a manifestation of the infinite power of God. It may be true that to understand Newton’s scientific achievements we can neglect the more metaphysical side of his personality. He devoted a larger amount of time to studies in alchemy and theology, dealing with arcane questions which ranged from the transmutation of elements to biblical chronology and the nature of the Christian Trinity.Īlthough we correctly learn in schools that Newtonian physics is a model of pure rationality, we would dishonor Newton’s memory if we overlooked the crucial role God plays in his Universe. His appetite for learning far transcended what we would nowadays call science. To focus on Newton’s science in order to understand Newton simply won’t do. And he started to look at other ways of knowing, complementary to his science. (We wrote about that here.) This is when Newton took science by storm and set the roots of mechanics and gravity in motion. ![]() You need to go back to England of the 1660s, when a 23-year-old Newton spent two years at his mom’s farm in Woolsthorpe, hiding from an outbreak of the plague that took hold of Cambridge, where he was studying. Well, to get excited about Newton’s social eccentricities, you need to go beyond just the science. I can’t get excited about the man as you do.” But what a weirdo! He had no friends, never married, or even had a relationship. I remember talking to a friend of mine about my admiration for Newton. And, of course, Newton co-invented calculus, without which there would be no physics or engineering. As a bonus, he also invented the reflector telescope that we use to extend our vision into the Universe. Isaac Newton formulated the laws of mechanics and the law of universal gravity, the laws we use to describe so many of the phenomena we experience, from apples falling and rockets taking off to Mars to the colors of the rainbow. But what makes Newton unique is that his science, as is the case for Darwin’s, is a science we can relate to in our everyday life, as opposed to being either far away in the realm of atoms (quantum physics) or at speeds we are not able to perceive directly (theory of relativity). Sure, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Darwin, Curie, and are all spectacular scientists and deserve the immortality they enjoy. It is hard to think of a name that has been more influential in science than Isaac Newton.
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