The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence: Together Wiith Extracts from Newton's Principia and Opticks
In 1715 Leibniz wrote to his friend the Princess of Wales to warn
her of the dangers Newton's philosophy posed for natural
religion. Seizing this chance of initiating an exchange between two
of the greatest minds in Europe, the princess showed his letter to
the eminent Newtonian scientist and natural theologian, Samuel
Clarke. From his reply developed an exchange of papers which was
published in 1717. The correspondence was immediately seen as a
crucial discussion of the significance of the new science, and it
became one of the most widely read philosophical works of its time.
Kant developed his theory of space and time from the problems at
issue, and the post-Newtonian physics of the twentieth century has
brought a revival of interest in Leibniz's objections: some of
the problems are still not finally resolved. In this edition an
introduction outlines the historical background, and there is a
valuable survey of the subsequent discussions of the problem of
space and time in the philosophy of science. Significant references
to the controversy in Leibniz's other correspondence have also
been collected, and the relevant passages from Newton's
"Principia" and "Opticks" are appended.
