Introduction

The centerpiece of Émilie Du Châtelet’s philosophy is her Foundations of Physics. This chapter provides an introduction to the text and to the philosophy found within. Du Châtelet’s philosophy builds on her critique and appraisal of all the leading alternatives of the period (Cartesian, Newtonian, Leibnizian, and so forth). Historical and philosophical context is provided for Du Châtelet’s writing of the Foundations, including her interest in Newton, Leibniz, and Wolff, and her connection to Voltaire. The “Received View” of the Foundations, according to which the early chapters primarily concern metaphysics, is contrasted with the approach to be taken in this book, according to which (i) the focus of the early chapters is scientific method, and (ii) the central problem of the Foundations is the “problem of bodies”, and more specifically the problem of bodily action. This chapter ends with an overview of the later chapters of this book.