"The mathematical methods employed by Newton in the Principia stimulated much debate among his contemporaries, especially Leibniz, Huygens, Johann Bernoulli and Euler, who debated their merits and drawbacks. Among the questions they asked were the following. How should natural philosophy be mathematized? Is it legitimate to use uninterpreted symbols? Is it possible to depart from the established Archimedean or Galilean/Huygenian tradition of geometrizing nature? What is the value of elegance and conciseness? What is the relation between Newton's geometrical methods and the calculus? This book explains how Newton addressed these issues. The author takes into consideration the values that directed the research of Newton and his contemporaries.

An advantage of this approach is that the reader gains new insight into the Principia, so that this book can be used as an historically motivated introduction to Newton's masterpiece."--BOOK JACKET. "This book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in departments of history of science, philosophy of science, physics, mathematics and astronomy, and especially anyone with a particular interest in Newton's Principia."--Jacket.