Some questions concerning ontology, metaphysics and matter in Émilie du Châtelet's Institutions physiques

Abstract

A work difficult to classify, Émilie du Châtelet's Physical Institutions presents a thematic sequence that sparks the curiosity of its readers. Thus, before addressing questions concerning matter, the movement of bodies, and the force of gravity, the text lingers on discussions about the principles of our knowledge, the existence of God, as well as ontological notions such as essence, attributes, and modes. The attention the author pays to a kind of divine voluntarism may be particularly surprising, serving as a motive for the author to examine, in depth, the relationship between God and the possibility of things. In the following text, we will seek to present some elements that help to show how these discussions should be understood as fulfilling a role in guiding the way in which the investigation of nature (especially with regard to the knowledge of matter) should be carried out. To this end, we will examine some of the main theses of the Institutions present in its first three chapters.