1 This is a preprint of a paper that will be published in The British Journal for the History of Science (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-for-the-history-of-science/article/pieter-van- musschenbroek-on-laws-of-nature/C6E077799F75295A9B0263DC49D793BB). This pre-print, which in no way replaces the original, must not be quoted or posted on other websites without prior permission from the authors. Pieter van Musschenbroek on laws of nature Steffen Ducheyne and Pieter Present * Nature hath no gaole, though she hath law. (The Progress of the Soul (1612) – John Donne) Abstract: In this article, we discuss the development of the concept of a ‘law (of nature)’ in the work of the Dutch natural philosopher and experimenter Petrus van Musschenbroek (1692-1761). Since van Musschenbroek is commonly described as one of the first ‘Newtonians’ on the continent in the secondary literature, we focus more specifically on its relationship to Newton’s views on this issue. Although he was certainly indebted to Newton for his thinking on laws (of nature), van Musschenbroek’s views can be seen to diverge from Newton’s on crucial points. We show moreover how his thinking on laws (of nature) was shaped by both international and local factors. We start with a brief discussion of Newton’s concept of ‘laws of nature’ in order to set the stage for van Musschenbroek’s. We then document the development of van Musschenbroek’s views on laws (of nature) in chronological order. We demonstrate how his thinking on laws (of nature) was tied to institutional, theological, and scientific factors. We conclude by pointing to the broader significance of this case-study for our understanding of the development of the concept ‘law of nature’ during the eighteenth century. Keywords: Pieter van Musschenbroek – laws of nature – eighteenth-century natural and experimental philosophy – Dutch Republic – Spinozism – voluntarism – Isaac Newton 1. Introduction * Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, room 5B425, Belgium. E- mails: steffen.ducheyne@vub.ac.be and pieter.present@vub.ac.be. This chapter is collaborative work and no significance attaches to the alphabetical order of the authors’ names. All translations are ours. Steffen Ducheyne’s research is sponsored by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel under the form of a Research Professorship. Pieter Present’s research is financed by the Research Fund – Flanders (project: G.0271.15N). Sections 1, 2, and 7 were written by Steffen Ducheyne and he is indebted to Pieter Present for useful feedback. Sections 3-6 were written by Pieter Present and he is indebted to Steffen Ducheyne for useful feedback and numerous suggestions. We are also highly indebted to Frans van Lunteren for useful exchange of thought, the anonymous referees for useful feedback, and the Special Collections Department at Leiden University Library for permission to quote from the material in their care.