PhD Scholarship ‘Resistance to Isaac Newton in the Dutch Republic’

The Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, Department History, Archeology, Arts, Philosophy and Ethics, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

Within the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science you will carry out research in the context of the recently awarded EOS-project ‘Responses to Newton’s Mathematical-Experimental Paradigm in 18th-Century Philosophy’ (RENEW18). This EOS project is funded by the Belgian research councils FWO and F.R.S.-FNRS and led by Karin de Boer (KU Leuven), Steffen Ducheyne (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Arnaud Pelletier (Université libre de Bruxelles). More information on the project can be found at https://hiw.kuleuven.be/cmprpc/renew18 . You will work on the subproject ‘Resistance to Isaac Newton in the Dutch Republic’ under the supervision of Prof. dr. Steffen Ducheyne. In addition to conducting independent research, you are expected to participate in the organization of common activities such as team meetings, talks, workshops, and conferences as well as to take up a modest teaching load. The working language is English.

More on the subproject: ‘With towering figures such as Herman Boerhaave, Willem Jacob ’s Gravesande and Petrus van Musschenbroek, the Dutch Republic is often considered to have rapidly welcomed Isaac Newton’s natural philosophical works and methods. This view neglects the fact that Newton’s natural philosophical work and methods were also heavily criticised in the Dutch Republic. For instance, in 1718 Ruardus Andala attacked Boerhaave’s ‘Sermo academicus de comparando certo in physicis’ (1715). Later Nicolaas Hartsoeker and Nicolaus Engelhard also attacked Newton’s work. These interesting figures are nowadays mostly forgotten. The primary aim of this project is to gain more understanding of the ideas and arguments of the abovementioned anti-Newtonians (or of that of other Dutch anti-Newtonians).’ 

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base.