The Clockwork God: Isaac Newton and the Mechanical Universe

Isaac Newton saw his demonstration of the regularity of the universe as having great religious significance. Newton's ideas were initially seen as very supportive of religion; yet within 50 years, they were being seen in a very different light. So what are the religious, aesthetic, and scientific implications of Newton's approach? The latest scholarship will be considered in order to unpack some of the deep questions that are raised by the scientific approach to nature. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-clockwork-god-isaac-newton-and-the-mechanical-universe Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show