Programska knjižica - Hrvatsko filozofsko društvo

su u 19. stoljeću nazvani »točkastim atomima«. Konceptualno, Boškovićeve
točke tvari nalaze se između Newtonovih atoma u vakuumu i Leibnizovih monada
te predstavljaju korak prema pojmu polja, koji je od izuzetnog značenja
za suvremenu fiziku.
Ključne riječi: Bošković, Newton, Leibniz, povijest fizike
RUĐER BOŠKOVIĆ BETWEEN NEWTON AND LEIBNIZ
Isaac Newton (1642–1727) and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716)
represent major figures of the early modern science and philosophy. Isaac
Newton is considered to be the founder of classical mechanics, while Leibniz
is now mostly known as a philosopher. In standard textbooks of physics Leibniz’s
name is not mentioned, although he dedicated a lot of time to forge his
philosophy of nature. In the history of physics he is well known for his polemics
with Samuel Clarke (1675–1729) on Newton’s mechanics, in which Clarke
is generally held to have defended Newton’s opinions. Among the problems
considered, one of the most important was the one concerning the nature of
space and time. Leibniz argued that there are only spatial and temporal relations
between bodies, and not space and time by themselves.
Ruđer Bošković (1711–1787) tried to combine these two conceptions of
reality. This raises two fundamental questions.
1. What conception does physics have of itself and its history?
Namely, Newton’s mechanics is still considered as a ‘valid theory’, taking
into account the constraints of the relativity theory and quantum mechanics.
On the other side, the Leibniz critique of Newton was essential for Einstein’s
synthesis of mechanics and electrodynamics in the theory of relativity.
2. What is Bošković’s contribution? Is it essential for the development of
physics?
Bošković’s most important contribution is his concept of matter which
consists of “non-extended points of matter endowed with attractive and repulsive
forces, and with the force of inertia,” which were called ‘punctual atoms’
in the 19th century. Conceptually, they are between Newton’s atoms in vacuum
and Leibniz’s monads, and represent a step toward the notion of field, which is
one of the most fundamental concepts of modern physics.
Key words: Bošković, Newton, Leibniz, history of physics
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