Abstract
The case to be examined is Isaac Newton’s rejection of a mechanical aether for gravitation in late 1684 or early 1684/85. I have chosen this episode as particularly appropriate for testing theories of scientific change primarily because of its historical importance, the rejection of a mechanical aether being a prerequisite for the establishment of Newtonian gravitational theory.
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Dobbs, B.J.T. (1988). Newton’s Rejection of the Mechanical Aether: Empirical Difficulties and Guiding Assumptions. In: Donovan, A., Laudan, L., Laudan, R. (eds) Scrutinizing Science. Synthese Library, vol 193. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2855-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2855-8_3
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