Abstract

This paper emphasizes some central aspects of the metaphysical and theological conditions underlying the new science of nature and thus contributes towards the understanding of the reasons behind Descartes' project of giving empirical physics a metaphysical foundation. Descartes is an important agent in the development of the new natural science, i.e. classical mechanics, both as an empirical physicist and as a metaphysician. What is special about Descartes is his idea that empirical physics is in need of a metaphysical foundation to ensure that the conditions on which empirical research rests are not just sound, but also inform what scientists may allow themselves to trust in terms of experiment and observation. Descartes is far from being the only one of his contemporaries contributing to the emergence of classical mechanics. He is, however, the only one with such a metaphysical project.