Isaac Newton, scholar: An exceptional example of normal erudition

Abstract

Isaac Newton remains a subject of primary interest in the history of science, as recent scholarship redefines our understanding of the boundaries between disciplines of knowing in the early modern world. Newton's alchemy—or chymistry—together with his interpretations of chronology and biblical prophecy continue to be debated in their relationship to his innovations in science—or natural philosophy. This article reviews the recent shifts of this debate to a focus on Newton's erudition, to how Newton employed the tools of the university‐educated scholar, both humanist and scholastic, in his search for truth within his various intellectual pursuits. Newton's massive legacy of remaining source documents provides rich insight into what was, in many ways, a form of scholarship quite common in his historical context.