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Newton’s notion and practice of unification

Abstract: In this paper I deal with a neglected topic with respect to unification in Newton’s Principia. I will clarify Newton’s notion (as can be found in Newton’s utterances on unification) and practice of unification (its actual occurrence in his scientific work). In order to do so, I will use th...

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Published in:Studies in History & Philosophy of Science Part A Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 61 - 79
Main Author: Ducheyne, Steffen
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier B.V. Mar2005
Subjects:
Newton-Raphson method
Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727
Iterative methods (Mathematics)
Mathematics
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2005
      vid: 36
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      pub: Elsevier B.V.
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        16596823
        10.1016/j.shpsa.2004.12.004
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        atl: Newton’s notion and practice of unification
      aug:
        au: Ducheyne, Steffen
        affil: Researcher of the Fund for Scientific Research––Flanders (Belgium), Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Ghent University, Blandijnberg 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
      su:
        Newton-Raphson method
        Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727
        Iterative methods (Mathematics)
        Mathematics
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        subj:
          Newton-Raphson method
          Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727
          Iterative methods (Mathematics)
          Mathematics
      keyword:
        Explanation
        Isaac Newton
        Principia
        Unification
      ab: Abstract: In this paper I deal with a neglected topic with respect to unification in Newton’s Principia. I will clarify Newton’s notion (as can be found in Newton’s utterances on unification) and practice of unification (its actual occurrence in his scientific work). In order to do so, I will use the recent theories on unification as tools of analysis (Kitcher, Salmon and Schurz). I will argue, after showing that neither Kitcher’s nor Schurz’s account aptly capture Newton’s notion and practice of unification, that Salmon’s later work is a good starting point for analysing this notion and its practice in the Principia. Finally, I will supplement Salmon’s account in order to answer the question at stake.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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