Bernard Nieuwentyt

Bernard Nieuwentyt, also written Nieuwentijt or Nieuwentijdt, was a Dutch philosopher, mathematician, physician, magistrate, mayor of Purmerend and theologian, born at West-Graftdijk in North Holland on 10 August 1654 and dying at Purmerend on 30 May 1718. As a philosopher he followed Descartes and opposed Spinoza. In 1695 he entered a controversy with Leibniz over the foundations of infinitesimal calculus, advocating nilsquare infinitesimals, which have higher powers equal to zero, while Leibniz was uncertain about adopting such a rule. His chief work, Het regt gebruik der werelt beschouwingen of 1715, argued for the existence of God and attacked Spinoza, and was translated into English as The Religious Philosopher in 1718. His posthumous Gronden van zekerheid of 1720 argued that Spinoza's geometrical method was not the proper experimental method of science.