The Metaphysics of Forces

This paper defends the view that Newtonian forces are real, symmetrical and non-causal rela-tions. First, I argue that Newtonian forces are real; second, that they are relations; third, that theyare symmetrical relations; fourth, that they are not species of causation. The overall picture isanti-Humean to the extent that it defends the existence of forces as external relations irreducibleto spatio-temporal ones, but is still compatible with Humean approaches to causation (and others)since it denies that forces are a species of causation.