Literary science and the creation of the Newtonian network, 1687-1759

The project of popularizing the Newtonian system marked a distinctive shift away from the "naked", anti-rhetorical, anti-literary style for scientific discourse proscribed by Robert Boyle and towards a new understanding of the relationship between literature, rhetoric, and Natural Philosophy. The Newtonian system of mechanical philosophy, by definition of it being a system, as opposed to just a method or a simple collection of data, went beyond mere relation of matters of fact and into the realm of universal meaning. But the esoteric nature of the Principia, along with Newton's refusal to publish any sort of digest or summary of his work, presented a problem for those who attempted to popularize his system. Because the inductive chain of observation and mathematical proof upon which Newton based his conclusions was so difficult for members of the general public to trace, the proponents of Newtonianism were forced to establish what Bruno Latour would call a "network "for the system, one that could at once operate within and reach beyond the realm of science and positively associate Newtonianism with desirable cultural, religious, political, and economic ideals.;In order for the claims posited by Newton to transcend controversy and achieve the status of facts, a new mode of scientific writing had to be employed that relied heavily on what might typically be termed "literary forms" as legitimate and powerful rhetorical tools. Throughout the early decades of the eighteenth century, works of "literary science" such John Harris's Astronomical Dialogues, and poems such as J.T. Deasguliers' Newtonian System of the World, allowed carefully selected actors and associations to be enrolled and controlled through the use of characterization, dialogue, setting, and form. In other words, the literary efforts of the Newtonian scientists should not simply be seen as attempts to "appeal" to an audience. Rather, these works aim at the much more complicated rhetorical project of constructing and controlling human and nonhuman allies that need to perform properly within the network in order for the claims of Newtonianism to achieve the status of facts.