Jean D'alembert-Science

Book excerpt: This book examines the origins of d'Alembert's philosophical ideas, and shows how abstract concepts such as force and mass were clarified and assimilated into the structure of classical mechanics. But more than this, the book is a study of the relations between science and philosophy during the Enlightenment, as reflected in the life and work of Jean d'Alembert, one of that period's most prominent spokesmen. By showing the interactions of one "philosophe" with the scientific, social and philosophical communities of the eighteenth century, Professor Hankins reveals how Enlightenment philosophy borrowed heavily from the methods and goals of science.