Principles of Natural Philosophy (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

F. J. B. Cordeiro

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1330406664 ISBN 13: 9781330406663

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Excerpt from Principles of Natural Philosophy

The study of such a subject must react upon the student in forming within him a new realization of what truth actually is. He will find that many of his most cherished beliefs would not stand before the Court of Nature, or for that matter before an ordinary law court. For ages man has seemed incapable of distinguishing between the true and false, and has had little desire to do so even when the means were at hand. The idea prevailed, and still prevails, that truths could be created by authority. A statement if loudly proclaimed and accepted by a sufficient following was, and is, supposed to be true irrespective of any in herent quality. A man may say that he believes and ao cepts as a truth something which he does not understand, but unless he clearly recognizes for himself the reasons why a thing must be true, it is not a truth for him. The student of mathematics learns from the beginning that nothing but the truth can ultimately prevail and that What is false necessarily carries with itself its own annihilation. Authority has no place in Science, for its results do not rest, or need to rest, upon any personal Sponsor, no matter how distinguished, but solely upon the truth or falsity of the reasoning by which they are derived.

Text books on this subject have been overfull of prob lems concerning rods and strings and flies walking on circular wires or perfectly smooth tables, so that it is perhaps natural that the impression has prevailed that instead of being an instrument for the acquisition of truth, mathematics are chiefly an agglomeration of symbols by which fantastic results, having no human or practical interest, are obtained. But natural philosophy is not the study of rods and strings. It is the story of the universe. For this reason we shall confine ourselves to processes which are actually occurring about us all the time to our earth, and to our solar system.

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Product Description

Excerpt from Principles of Natural Philosophy Natural philosophy is the study of nature, or the universe. Experience shows that all effects are preceded by causes, and under identical circumstances all changes are always effected in the same manner. Nature is in a continual state of flux, this flux consisting of a ceaseless interchange of energy between its various parts, but its action is always uniform and unique. It is this invariableness and uniformity which renders possible a philosophy of nature. The investigation of the manner or laws under which changes take place is comprised under such names as Physics, Dynamics, Mechanics, or Natural Philosophy, but since in this book we shall not confine ourselves merely to the investigation of such processes, but shall consider ourselves free to speculate upon them, insofar as that is possible, the latter term is preferable. It was used by Newton in this sense. The ultimate, or primordial causes of nature must ever remain unknown to us, since the infinite cannot be grasped by finite minds, but a certain proximate region has been explored and it is to the credit of mankind that its borders are being continually extended. No important result can ever be achieved without serious and concentrated thought and close and careful reasoning. Such a method, in any of its forms, constitutes mathematics, and any man who reasons carefully and accurately is a mathematician. The theory of changes was called by Newton, its discoverer, Fluxions, symbolizing thereby the fluxions of nature. It is now known as The Calculus, and it is only decent that every man with more than a rudimentary education should know the calculus and thereby something of the universe in which he lives. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1330406664
• ISBN 13: 9781330406663
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 124