Coordinator: Grigore Vida (University of Bucharest)
The Leibniz–Clarke Correspondence is probably the most famous epistolary exchange in the history of philosophy. It is a compendium of problems with which the 17th century struggled and which were left as a philosophical legacy and agenda for the 18th century (for instance, one cannot fully understand Kant’s arguments for space and time without having the Leibniz–Clarke Correspondence as background). It is also the best illustration of that unique fusion between theology, physics, and philosophy so characteristic for the second part of the 17th century, never to be achieved again. The dispute between Newton and Leibniz was a battle of the giants in all these domains, not to mention the political substratum, and disentangling all the complexities that lay behind requires a huge, but fascinating work for both the historian and the philosopher.
This seminar will go through all the major historical and conceptual problems of the Leibniz–Clarke Correspondence, but with a special focus on Samuel Clarke. Instead of reading him as Newton’s mouthpiece, Clarke’s replies will be set in the context of three of his other works, namely the correspondence with Anthony Collins, his first Boyle lecture (A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God), and the Latin annotated translation of Rohault’s Traité de physique.
The seminar will run in parallel with a new annotated edition and Romanian translation of the correspondence.
Audience: Advanced undergraduate and master students, though anyone else is welcomed to join. There will 25-30 pages of primary texts to be read per week, and 20-25 of secondary texts. The texts will be mainly in English; as for the language of our discussion, we can decide it together. The meetings will take place online, once a week, beginning from the end of March. If you are interested to join, please send an email to grigore.vida@icub.unibuc.ro. I will email you the Zoom link and the texts.
This seminar will be held as part of the research project Making Modern Science: Tracing the Dynamics of a ‘Cartesian Newtonian Textbook’ during the Scientific Revolution (PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-0841).
Bibliography:
Primary
- A Collection of Papers, which passed between the late Learned Mr. Leibnitz, and Dr. Clarke, in the Years 1715 and 1716. Relating to the Principles of Natural Philosophy and Religion, London, Printed for James Knapton, 1717
- The Leibniz–Clarke Correspondence. Together with extracts from Newton’s Principia and Opticks, edited with an Introduction and notes by H. G. Alexander, Manchester, University Press Manchester, 1956; reprinted 1965
- Correspondance Leibniz–Clarke présentée d’après les manuscrits originaux des bibliothèques de Hanovre et de Londres par André Robinet, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 1957; 2me édition 1991
- The Correspondence of Samuel Clarke and Anthony Collins, 1707–08, edited by William l. Uzgalis, Broadview Editions, 2011
- Samuel Clarke, A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God and other writings, edited by Ezio Vailati, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998
- Rohault’s System of Natural Philosophy, illustrated with D Samuel Clarke’s Notes, taken mostly of Sr. Isaac Newton’s Philosophy, London, Printed for James and John Knapton, 1723
- Isaac Newton, Philosophical Writings, edited by Andrew Janiak, revised edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2014
Secondary
Specific secondary literature will be given for each meeting. Two major accounts of the Leibniz–Clarke correspondence and the Newton–Leibniz debate are:
- Ezio Vailati, Leibniz and Clarke: A Study of Their Correspondence, Oxford University Press, New York, 1997
- Rupert Hall, Philosophers at War: The Quarrel between Newton and Leibniz, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980
First meeting:
- Introduction
- The beginning of the exchange
- What is “natural religion”?
- What does “sensorium of God” mean?
Primary texts:
- Clarke’s Dedication to the Princess of Wales
- Leibniz’ First Paper and Clarke’s First Reply (both are very short)
- Fragments from Newton’s Opticks
Secondary literature:
- Jamie C. Kassler, Newton’s Sensorium: Anatomy of a Concept, Cham: Springer, 2018 + my review: “From sensorium hominis to sensorium Dei,” Journal of Early Modern Studies, vol. 8, nr. 2 (2019), pp. 139–148