ArgumentAccording to a long-standing interpretation which traces back to Max Jammer'sConcepts of Force(1957), Ruggiero G. Boscovich would have developed a concept of force in the tradition of Leibniz's dynamics. In his variation on the theme, basic properties of matter such as solidity or impenetrability would be derived from an interplay of some “active” force of attraction and repulsion that any primary element of nature (“point of matter” in Boscovich's theory) would possess. In the present paper I discuss many flaws of this interpretation and argue for an alternative point of view, according to which the crucial aspect in the development of Boscovich's natural philosophy is his early definition of forces as “mathematical determinations” to have a certain state of motion. This is consistent with a Newtonian background and has as its epistemological consequence a certain agnosticism about the nature of forces and a “mathematical neutralism” (mathematics as a neutral tool, allowing for a plurality of interpretations).

中文翻译：

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鲁杰罗·博斯科维奇和“自然界中存在的力量”

论据根据可追溯到 Max Jammer 的长期解释力的概念(1957)，Ruggiero G. Boscovich 在莱布尼茨动力学的传统中发展了一个力的概念。在他对主题的变体中，物质的基本特性，例如坚固性或不可穿透性，将源自自然的任何主要元素（博斯科维奇理论中的“物质点”）所具有的某种“主动”吸引力和排斥力的相互作用。 . 在本文中，我讨论了这种解释的许多缺陷并论证了另一种观点，根据这种观点，博斯科维奇自然哲学发展的关键方面是他早期将力定义为具有某种状态的“数学决定”运动。