The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence with Extracts from Newton's Principia and Opticks

Dust jacket notes: "In November 1715 Leibniz wrote to his friend, the Princess of Wales, to warn her that natural religion was threatened by Newton's natural philosophy. The princess seized the chance to initiate an exchange, in the vain hope of bringing about a reconciliation between two of the greatest minds in Europe. Newton himself being unapproachable, she showed Leibniz's letter to Samuel Clarke, a divine equally eminent as a Newtonian scientist and as a natural theologian. Clarke composed a short reply, and there ensued the exchange of papers which Voltaire called 'peut-etre le plus beau monument que nous ayons des combats litteraires.' On its publication in 1717 it was immediately seen to be a crucial discussion of the significance of the new science, and it became one of the most widely read philosophical works of its time. Some of the problems are still not finally resolved. Kant developed his theory of space of time out of the problems at issue between Leibniz and Newton. The post-Newtonian physics of this century has brought a revival of interest in Leibniz's objections, and anticipations of Einstein's theories of relativity have been noted. The full Correspondence has not been reprinted in English since 1738. The present editor has tried to assemble as complete a documentation of the controversy as is possible in one volume. The relevant passages from Newton's Principia and Opticks are appended. Significant references to the controversy in Leibniz's other correspondence have also been collected. The necessary historical information is given in the Introduction, and there is a valuable survey of the subsequent discussions of the problem of space and time in philosophy of science."