Newtonian Philosophy

The concepts of complexity and emergent properties, discussed here within the context of drug research, must become integral parts of every step in this collective effort as it is practised today and as it evolves to newer methods tomorrow. However, and this remark is so important that it was kept for the end, these new concepts are not meant to replace the traditional mechanistic approaches that have proven so successful in drug research. Rather, the post-Newtonian vision must blend with the Newtonian philosophy to enlarge and enrich our mental world. As so aptly stated by Edward O. Wilson, the father of sociobiology (quoted in Lewin, 1993) ... 

Time is a fundamental property of the physical world. Because time encompasses the antinomic qualities of transience and duration, the definition of time poses a dilemma for the formulation of a comprehensive physical theory. The partial elimination of time is a common solution to this dilemma. In his mechanical philosophy, Newton appears to resort to the elimination of the transient quality of time by identifying time with duration. It is suggested, however, that the transient quality of time may be identified as the active component of the Newtonian concept of inertia, a quasi occult quality of matter that is correlated with change, and that is essential to defining duration. The assignment of the transient quality of time to matter is a necessary consequence of Newton s attempt to render a world system of divine mathematical order. Newton s interest in alchemy reflects this view that matter is active and mutable in nature... 

Henry, J. Occult qualities and the experimental philosophy active principles in pre- Newtonian matter theory. Hist Sci 24 (1986) 335-381. 

Stewart, Larry. The rise of public science rhetoric, technology, and natural philosophy in Newtonian Britain, 1660-1750. Cambridge Cambridge Univ P, 1992. 

See Arnold Thackray, Atoms and Powers An Essay on Newtonian Matter Theory and the Development of Chemistry (Cambridge Harvard University Press, 1970), and Robert E. Schofield, Mechanism and Materialism British Natural Philosophy in an Age of Reason (Princeton Princeton University Press, 1970). 

John Henry, Occult Qualities and the Experimental Philosophy Active Principles in Pre-Newtonian Matter Theory , History ofScience 24 (1986), 335—81 Keith Hutchison, What Happened to Occult Qualities in the Scientific Revolution , Isis 73 (1982), 233—53. 

There has evolved over the past three decades a set of general concepts that have revolutionized the way we regard and study systems in nature. Their basic premises run counter to the Newtonian reductionistic approaches and might thus be labelled post-Newtonian concepts. The central theme of this new philosophy is the recognition that the behaviour and properties of a system are non-linear combinations of the subsystems. Such a system is endowed with complexity and displays specific properties that emerge from dynamic interactions between the subsystems. We discuss briefly complexity and emergence as the two pillars of post-Newtonian thought. 

Heimann, P. M. Newtonian Natural Philosophy and the Scientific Revolution. History of Science 11, 1973, 1-7. 

Stewart, Larry. The Rise of Public Science Rhetoric, Technology, and Natural Philosophy in Newtonian Britain, 1660—1750 (Cambridge University Press,... 

Thackray, A. (1970). Atoms and Poiners. An Essaj on Newtonian Matter-Theorj and the Development of Chemistry. London 119, 184 Donovan, A.L. (1975). Philosophical Chemistry in the Scottish Enlightenment. The Discoveries of William Cullen and Joseph Black. Edinburgh 31 Schofield, R.E. (1970b). Me-chanicism and Materialism. British Natural Philosophy in an Age of Eeason. New Jersey 211-212, 145 Shapiro, A.E. (1993). Fits, Passion and Paroxysms. Physics, Method, and Chemistry and Newton s Theories of Coloured Bodies and Fits of Easy Reflection. Cambridge 224. 

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