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Single Idea 17020

[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 7. Later Matter Theories / b. Corpuscles ]

Full Idea

The attractions of the bodies must be reckoned by assigning proper forces to their individual particles and then taking the sums of those forces.

Gist of Idea

An attraction of a body is the sum of the forces of their particles

Source

Isaac Newton (Principia Mathematica [1687], 1.II.Schol)

Book Ref

Newton,Isaac: 'Philosophical Writings' [CUP 2004], p.86

A Reaction

This is using the parts of bodies to give fundamental explanations, rather than invoking substantial forms. The parts need not be atoms.

The 7 ideas with the same theme [matter is just collections of smaller parts]:

16675 Every extended material substance is composed of parts distant from one another [William of Ockham]
16707 Cold and hot are the swiftness and slowness of corpuscular motion [Beeckman]
16731 Colours arise from the rarity, density and mixture of matter [Digby]
15972 The corpuscular theory allows motion, but does not include forces between the particles [Boyle, by Alexander,P]
17020 An attraction of a body is the sum of the forces of their particles [Newton]
16592 Atomism is the commonest version of corpuscularianism, but isn't required by it [Pasnau]
16750 If there are just arrangements of corpuscles, where are the boundaries between substances? [Pasnau]