The Newtonian Thread of Analogy in Kant’s 1755 Cosmology

Abstract In this article, I argue that Newton’s influence on Kant’s Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels is primarily reflected in Kant’s employment of analogy. To this end, I first frame Newton’s second rule of philosophizing in terms of an inference ticket for analogical arguments and explain Newton’s reference to the “analogy of nature” in terms of a metaphysical principle authorizing transductive inferences. Secondly, I argue that several crucial arguments in Kant’s essay exhibit the argumentative scheme warranted by Newton’s second rule and/or implicitly appeal to Newton’s analogy of nature. In doing so, I both challenge studies on Kant’s pre-critical commitment to Newton and expand on existing literature concerning 18 th -century Newtonianism.