This is a work in the history of philosophy. But it analyzes a figure considered first and foremost a mathematician and physicist. In recent years scholars have emphasized the importance of the complex interactions between philosophy and the natural sciences in the modern period. This study adopts a parallel perspective, attempting to shed new light on Isaac Newton by situating him within a rich philosophical milieu. I argue that this approach reflects Newton's own self-conception. He considered Descartes to be his most important predecessor among the myriad natural philosophers of the seventeenth century, and his principal contemporary interlocutors include many prominent philosophical figures, for instance Robert Boyle, Samuel Clarke, Roger Cotes, and John Locke in England, and Christiaan Huygens and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz on the Continent. For his supporters and detractors alike Newton single-handedly placed crucial topics on the philosophical agenda of the eighteenth century. It is hoped that this book will illuminate the philosophical aspects of Newton's work, and also bring a fresh perspective to key themes in the development of early modern philosophy.

I did not set out to write a book on Newton. Originally I was working on Kant's theoretical philosophy with Michael Friedman. When I first came to his office about a decade ago, Michael suggested that we read the Leibniz–Clarke correspondence together in preparation for my work on Kant's conception of space. This immediately sparked my interest in all things Newtonian.