George Berkeley traktaadis “De motu” esitatud kriitikast Isaac Newtoni gravitatsioonikontseptsiooni suhtes

Abstract

Current work analyzes the critical argumentation presented by George Berkeley in his essay De Motu towards the concept of gravity by Isaac Newton. In the wider historical context of different contemporary schools in natural philosophy, different diachronic themes and problematic issues in the concept of gravity as recognized by Newton himself, Berkeley’s argumentation is analyzed and systematized as four arguments: terminological vagueness, use of fictional entitities, explanation of phenomena by occult qualities, and the issue of force as a substance. As we see, all these are found in many other authors of the era. From the modern point of view, some analogies to Berkeley’s arguments have been used in modern physics, inducing and introducing new theories in cosmology, quantum physics, and theory of relativity. Evidently, Berkeley’s argumentation is if not valid, then definitely deserving more attention and a more thorough analysis than it has received until now. Throughout the work, several perspectives for further Berkeleian studies are noted. Concerning the question of instrumentalism, the author doubts its foundation as such in Berkeley’s De motu , and queries, whether the whole theory might be anachronistic. Analysis is accompanied by a partial translation of De Motu into Estonian.