The General Scholium to Isaac Newton’s Principia mathematica (1713, 1726)
The General Scholium to Isaac Newton’s Principia mathematica (1713, 1726) Published for the first time as an appendix to the 2nd (1713) edition of the Principia , the General Scholium reappeared in the 3rd (1726) edition with some amendments and additions. As well as countering the natural philosophy of Leibniz and the Cartesians, the General Scholium contains an excursion into natural theology and theology proper. In this short text, Newton articulates the design argument (which he fervently believed was furthered by the contents of his Principia ), but also includes an oblique argument for a unitarian conception of God and an implicit attack on the doctrine of the Trinity, which Newton saw as a post-biblical corruption. The English translation here is that of Andrew Motte (1729). Italics and orthography as in original. [1] For more on the General Scholium visit the Newton Project Canada website. G e n e r a l S c h o l i u m:...