  Despite its apparent simplicity, Newtonian Mechanics contains conceptual
subtleties that may cause some confusion to the deep-thinking student. These
subtleties concern fundamental issues such as, e.g., the number of independent
laws needed to formulate the theory, or, the distinction between genuine
physical laws and derivative theorems. This article attempts to clarify these
issues for the benefit of the student by revisiting the foundations of
Newtonian Dynamics and by proposing a rigorous axiomatic approach to the
subject. This theoretical scheme is built upon two fundamental postulates,
namely, conservation of momentum and superposition property for interactions.
Newton's Laws, as well as all familiar theorems of Mechanics, are shown to
follow from these basic principles.
