RIHST Conference

THIS CONFERENCE IS FOR INVITED GUESTS ONLY.

Slowly but surely, we are moving away from the portrait of Newton the ‘isolated genius' that was so vividly painted in Richard Westfall's magisterial biography, Never at Rest (1980). In the last decade, Newton's natural philosophy, alchemy, chronology, theology, and more have been revealed as products of deeply collaborative practices, and of a pluralistic and vibrant ‘normal science' that did not need Newton's singular genius to transform it in one fell swoop.

Nonetheless, much remains to be done to recover the human Newton: a man who was in constant dialogue with others, and whose ideas were spread via personal connections and networks across Europe and beyond. This conference brings together experts from around the world with the aim of furthering that process of historical recovery. The goal is not just to get closer to the historical Newton, but also to the way the pursuit of knowledge functioned in early modern Europe and its institutions: universities, academies, bookshops, and beyond.

Organized by the Research Institute for the History of Science and Technology (RIHST) at Caltech and The Huntington.