Maupertuis’s Principle of Least Action: Epistemology and Metaphysics

Authors :: Storni, Marco
Source :: Montesquieu.it, Vol 11, Iss 1 (2019)
Publication Year :: 2019
Publisher :: Montesquieu.it, 2019.
Abstract: The paper deals with Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis’s (1698-1759) writings on the principle of least action (PLA). I discuss Maupertuis’s philosophical interpretation of the PLA by analysing three of his papers (1740, 1744, 1746), in order to assess the overall consistency of his argument. As I shall argue, Maupertuis presents the PLA as a universal principle of nature, this being at odds with the empiricist inspiration of his epistemology. Maupertuis’s attempt to introduce conceptual elements borrowed from the Leibnizian tradition into a Newtonian-inspired framework creates in fact a tension that is difficult to overcome.<br />Montesquieu.it, No 11 (2019)