Newton's unusual - or even downright heretical - religious opinions were well known to a number of his contemporaries. For over two centuries the exact nature of his religious beliefs was a matter of intense debate, but by the middle of the nineteenth century it was public knowledge that he had held highly unorthodox conceptions of the Trinity. Until the early 1970s, very few of Newton's private theological researches had been made publicly available, and scholars did not determine his views with any precision. However, in the last few years millions of words from his previously unpublished religious writings have become publicly available, making it possible to offer a considered account of their content, and to assess what they tell us about the man.
In Priest of Nature, Newton scholar Rob Iliffe does just that. Tracing Newton's life from his birth though his years as a Cambridge don, his tenure as Warden and Master of the Mint, and his twenty-four years as President of the Royal Society, up to his death in 1727, Iliffe examines how Newton managed the complex boundaries between private and public professions of belief. While previous scholars and biographers have attempted to find coherence in his intellectual pursuits, Iliffe shows how wide-ranging and catholic Newton's views and interests in fact were, and in that takes issue with those who have attempted to underestimate their range and complexity.
Arguing that there is no simplistic coherence between Newton's philosophical and religious views, Priest of Nature delves into the religious writings Newton produced during his life, from his account of the sexually depraved lives of the early monks to his views about the creation of the world and the Apocalypse, and his commitment to a simple (anti-Trinitarian) doctrine that he believed had been corrupted in the first centuries of Christianity. Iliffe argues that religious commitments lay at the heart of Newton's earliest scientific research, and shows how his analysis of the techniques he used to prosecute corrupters of Christian doctrine were identical to those he used when dealing with his scientific enemies. Ultimately, Priest of Nature asserts, Newton's ambitious engagement with a tradition central to Western thought displays the same creative energy visible in his mathematical and scientific work, and despite his reluctance to follow any specific sect, he should be seen as a devout layman who made independence of thought a core virtue.
Offering novel insights into the spiritual life of Newton, Priest of Nature is both a scholarly work and a vibrant biography of one of the most influential scientists in history.

《莱布尼茨与克拉克战书信集》在哲学史和科学史上都是一部有重要意义的作品。莱布尼茨是十七世纪末至十八世纪初德国著名的哲学家和伟大的科学家，而克拉克则是牛顿的朋友和拥护者。这一论战实际上是莱布尼茨和牛顿派之间有关世界的一些根本观点，特别是关于空间和时间的本性的观点的争论。莱布尼茨虽然是站在唯心主义的立场上，但他对牛顿的绝对时空观的批判，不论对哲学家或物理学的发展都是有一定的促进作用的。本书对哲学史和科学史的研究者，特别对有志于探索时空观念的发展史的人是必读的历史文献，对一般学习西方哲学史和科学史的学生也是重要的读物。

本书原书由台湾东大图书公司于2000年出版，新版作了订正，同时增加了一篇序言《科学何以成为科学：爱因斯坦品读牛顿》。本书尽可能地利用原始资料，从文化层面介绍牛顿的生平及其工作。作者认为，承继科学革命时代一百五十年人类探索研究的精华而集大成者是英国科学家牛顿，他以近乎神一般的理解力最终说明了行星的运动、彗星的轨道和大海的潮汐。人类对于其自身厕身其间的宇宙的认识，就建立在这一理解之上；而牛顿的工作所提示的理性精神，则远远超过了物理学、天文学或任何一种具体学科的范围，成为人类思维的主要方法和准则。

在吴以义编著的《从哥白尼到牛顿--日心学说的确立》中，作者凭借其扎实的科学史功底，广泛征集史料，旁征博引，系统地阐述了从哥白尼开始到牛顿近两百年间日心学说的发展史。作者围绕这一学说的提出，学术界的讨论和接受，其间所发生的问题，困难的克服等问题，详细描述这一人类认识史上重要事件的来龙去脉，并深入讨论这一事件所提供的认识论、哲学和历史的教益。本书作为一部严谨的学术专著，对于科学史研究而言，具有重要价值和重大意义。本书可读性较强。尤其是对自然科学如何从哲学中分离、现代科学如何走上自己的道路等的论述，读来让人有酣畅淋漓之感。尤为可贵的是，书中引用的大量原始资料，其中绝大部分至今尚未为中国学术界知晓。

This richly detailed biography captures both the personal life and the scientific career of Isaac Newton, presenting a fully rounded picture of Newton the man, the scientist, the philosopher, the theologian, and the public figure. Professor Westfall treats all aspects of Newton's career, but his account centres on a full description of Newton's achievements in science. Thus the core of the work describes the development of the calculus, the experimentation that altered the direction of the science of optics, and especially the investigations in celestial dynamics that led to the law of universal gravitation.

这本牛顿研究的集子包括了作者年十几年来写的一些文章，其中每篇都论及牛顿科学思想的一个不同方面。虽然每篇文章都是分别写成的，彼此之间并无我少联系，但它们却并非仅仅是因为研究了同一个人思想的某个方面而被强行拼凑到了一起。其中心主题是，用概念分析的方法来说明基本的科学思想是怎样与同时代的主流哲学思想相联系，并且被经验控制所决定的。
《北京大学科技哲学丛书》总序
前言
第一篇 牛顿综合的意义
第二篇 牛顿科学思想中的概念与经验
第三篇 牛顿与笛卡尔
附录A 惠更斯与莱布尼茨论万有引力
附录B 引力是一种隐秘的性质吗？
附录C 重力是物质的一种本质属性吗？
附录D 虚空与广延
附录E 罗奥与克拉克论引力
附录F 哥白尼与开普勒论重力
附录G 伽桑狄论引力与重力
附录H 胡克论重力的吸引
附录I 伽桑狄和水平运动
附录J 运动状态与静止状态
附录K 笛卡尔论无限与无定限
附录L 上帝与无限
附录M 运动、空间与位置
第四篇 牛顿、伽利略与柏拉图
第五篇 一封示发表的罗伯特·胡克致伊萨克·牛顿的信
第六篇 牛顿的“哲学思考的规则”
第七篇 引力、牛顿和科茨
索引
人名译名对照表
译后记