By describing the dynamical evolution of a test charged particle in the presence of an electromagnetic field and a succession of infinitesimal Lorentz boosts and rotations it is possible to obtain the Lorentz force of electrodynamics. A consequence of this heuristic derivation at the classical level is that, given the existence of electric and magnetic fields, the form of the electromagnetic force acting on the particle can be regarded as arising from the geometry of Minkowskian spacetime.