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Galilæana. Studies in Renaissance and Early Modern Science

Essays

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2026)

An outline of Celestino Cominale’s (1722–1785) critique of Isaac Newton’s natural philosophical method

DOI
https://doi.org/10.57617/gal-91
Submitted
18 June 2025
Published
2026-05-22

Abstract

This essay examines Celestino Cominale’s (1722–1785) self-proclaimed ‘anti-Newtonianism’. Between 1754 and 1770, Cominale published four volumes under the title of Anti-Newtonianismi, in which he launched a sustained attack on Newton’s natural philosophy. Despite a modest resurgence of interest in his work, Cominale’s critique has largely been overlooked and is often dismissed as an isolated, provincial, and misguided attack on Newton’s theories. This article seeks to offer a comprehensive account of Cominale’s critique of Newton’s natural philosophy, with a particular focus on the opening chapters of the second volume of Anti-Newtonianismi. It will be shown that Cominale was deeply engaged with contemporary debates surrounding Newton’s natural philosophy and, at times, advanced original and insightful criticisms of Newton’s natural philosophical method.

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