(The American Encyclopaedia, 1881)
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Willem Jakob van 'sGravesande
was a Dutch philosopher , born in Bois-le-duc, Sept. 27 1688, died in Leyden,
Feb. 28, 1742. He published at the age of 18 an essay on perspective,
and a philosophical thesis on suicide. After completing his studies
at the university of Leipsic in 1707, he was admitted to the bar at the
Hague, where he wrote for the Journal
Litteraire an examination of Fontenelle's "Geometry of the Infinite",
a disertation on the construction of the air pump, one concerning the force
of bodies, in which he embraced the position of Leibnitz against that of
Newton, and disertations upon the motion of the earth, &c. In
1717 he was appointed professor of mathematics and astronomy in the university
of Leyden, and exchanged his chair in 1734 for that of philosophy, which
he held to his death. His philosophical writings are eclectic in
character, combining portions of the doctrines of Locke, Descartes, and
Leibnitz. His principle works are: Physics Elementa Mathematica
(2 vols. 4to, the Hague, 1720 - '23); Matheseos Universalis Elementa
(8vo, Leyden, 1727); and Introductio ad Philosophiam, Metaphysicam
et Logicam (Leyden, 1736 - '7).
(The American Encyclopaedia, 1881) |