?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Without+God%3A+Gravity+as+a+Relational+Property+of+Matter+in+Newton&rft.creator=Schliesser%2C+Eric&rft.subject=History+of+Philosophy+of+Science&rft.subject=History+of+Science+Case+Studies&rft.description=In+this+paper+I+interpret+Newton%E2%80%99s+speculative+treatment+of+gravity+as+a+relational%2C+accidental+property+of+matter+that+arises+through+what+Newton+calls+%E2%80%9Cthe+shared+action%E2%80%9D+of+two+bodies+of+matter.+In+doing+so%2C+I+expand+and+extend+on+a+hint+by+Howard+Stein.+However%2C+in+developing+the+details+of+my+interpretation+I+end+up+disagreeing+with+Stein%E2%80%99s+claim+that+for+Newton+a+single+body+can+generate+a+gravity%2Fforce+field.+I+argue+that+when+Newton+drafted+the+first+edition+of+the+Principia+in+the+mid+1680s%2C+he+thought+that+(at+least+a+part+of)+the+cause+of+gravity+is+the+disposition+inherent+in+any+individual+body%2C+but+that+the+force+of+gravity+is+the+actualization+of+that+disposition%3B+a+necessary+condition+for+the+actualization+of+the+disposition+is+the+actual+obtaining+of+a+relation+between+two+bodies+having+the+disposition.+The+cause+of+gravity+is+not+essential+to+matter+because+God+could+have+created+matter+without+that+disposition.+Nevertheless%2C+at+least+a+part+of+the+cause+of+gravity+inheres+in+individual+bodies+and+were+there+one+body+in+the+universe+it+would+inhere+in+that+body.+On+the+other+hand%2C+the+force+of+gravity+is+neither+essential+to+matter+nor+inherent+in+matter%2C+because+(to+repeat)+it+is+the+actualization+of+a+shared+disposition.+A+lone+part-less+particle+would%2C+thus%2C+not+generate+a+gravity+field.+Seeing+this+allows+us+to+helpfully+distinguish+among+a)+accepting+gravity+as+causally+real%3B+b)+the+cause(s)+(e.g.+the+qualities+of+matter)+of+the+properties+of+gravity%3B+c)+making+claims+about+the+mechanism+or+medium+by+which+gravity+is+transmitted.+This+will+help+clarify+what+Newton+could+have+meant+when+he+insisted+that+gravity+is+a+real+force.+I+present+my+argument+in+opposition+to+Andrew+Janiak%E2%80%99s+influential+and+fine+2007+paper.+Along+the+way%2C+I+call+attention+to+my+disagreement+with+Janiak+on+a+number+of+secondary+issues+(e.g.+Janiak%E2%80%99s+attribution+to+Newton+of+a+distinction+between+%E2%80%98local%E2%80%99+and+%E2%80%98distant%E2%80%99+action%3B+Janiak%E2%80%99s+reading+of+the+%E2%80%9CLetter+to+Bentley%2C%E2%80%9D+etc).+&rft.date=2008&rft.type=Other&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=doc&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fphilsci-archive.pitt.edu%2F4248%2F1%2Fwithoutgodrelationalquality.doc&rft.identifier=Schliesser%2C+Eric+(2008)+Without+God%3A+Gravity+as+a+Relational+Property+of+Matter+in+Newton.+UNSPECIFIED.&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fphilsci-archive.pitt.edu%2F4248%2