| | Newton's science dominated science and educated thought throughout the 18th century, being seen as the highest achievement of pure reason and classical culture.<ref>Feingold, ''The Newtonian Moment'' (2004); Larry Stewart, ''The Rise of Public Science: Rhetoric, Technology, and Natural Philosophy in Newtonian Britain, 1660-1750.'' (1992)</ref> In the 19th century, however, Romantic scientists went in entirely new directions, exploring non-Newtonian topics in electricity, magnetism and thermodynamics, and in mathematics turning to topics unrelated to calculus, like group theory. The leading German poet, [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] - who was also a renowned Natural philosopher - even tried to challenge Newton's optics. | | Newton's science dominated science and educated thought throughout the 18th century, being seen as the highest achievement of pure reason and classical culture.<ref>Feingold, ''The Newtonian Moment'' (2004); Larry Stewart, ''The Rise of Public Science: Rhetoric, Technology, and Natural Philosophy in Newtonian Britain, 1660-1750.'' (1992)</ref> In the 19th century, however, Romantic scientists went in entirely new directions, exploring non-Newtonian topics in electricity, magnetism and thermodynamics, and in mathematics turning to topics unrelated to calculus, like group theory. The leading German poet, [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] - who was also a renowned Natural philosopher - even tried to challenge Newton's optics. |
| | Newton wrote over a million words on religion—nearly all in unpublished hand-written manuscripts and unavailable for research until the 20th century. Although older scholars did not have access to his writings, "Among contemporary scholars, the consensus is that Newton was an Arian," concludes Pfizenmaier (1997).<ref>Thomas C. Pfizenmaier, "Was Isaac Newton an Arian?," ''Journal of the History of Ideas,'' Vol. 58, No. 1 (Jan. 1997), pp. 57-80 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3653988 in JSTOR]</ref> Arians were Christians but the Arian theology died out as an organized force a thousand years before; Newton read the old texts and identified himself with Arius and his beliefs. | | Newton wrote over a million words on religion—nearly all in unpublished hand-written manuscripts and unavailable for research until the 20th century. Although older scholars did not have access to his writings, "Among contemporary scholars, the consensus is that Newton was an Arian," concludes Pfizenmaier (1997).<ref>Thomas C. Pfizenmaier, "Was Isaac Newton an Arian?," ''Journal of the History of Ideas,'' Vol. 58, No. 1 (Jan. 1997), pp. 57-80 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3653988 in JSTOR]</ref> Arians were Christians but the Arian theology died out as an organized force a thousand years before; Newton read the old texts and identified himself with Arius and his beliefs. |
| | In an effort to debunk widespread claims of his time that the world would be ending soon, Newton wrote a private manuscript estimating that the world would not end prior to the year A.D. 2060.<ref>http://www.isaac-newton.org/newton_2060.htm</ref> | | In an effort to debunk widespread claims of his time that the world would be ending soon, Newton wrote a private manuscript estimating that the world would not end prior to the year A.D. 2060.<ref>http://www.isaac-newton.org/newton_2060.htm</ref> |