SOURCE: "Newton's Arguments for Absolute Space," in Archiv fur Geschichte de Philosophie, Walter de Gruyter, 1985, pp. 80-91.

In the following essay, Winterbourne offers a reading of Newton's "proofs" of absolute space that supports the claim that Newton's argument has been misrepresented by modern critics. Furthermore, Winterbourne suggests that Newton's argument may be interpreted more literally than has previously been the case.

In this paper I shall examine Newton's 'proofs' of absolute space, and try to justify the claim that the argument has been misrepresented by recent commentators, and that it can be given a rather more literal rendering than has been the case.'

It is usually accepted that since Newtonian mechanics requires an absolute reference frame, Newton must defend that conception from within the framework of natural philosophy, or be compelled to present this reference frame as an epistemologically unjustified, but metaphysically necessary presupposition.² The orthodox view...