In his Letters on the motion impressed by a moving mover, the theory of the motion of composite bodies put forth by Gassendi is strikingly similar to Galileo's. In other of his writings, however, his description of the motion of individual atoms is understood very differently. In those places, he holds (1) that individual atoms are always in motion, even when the body that contains them is at rest, (2) that atomic motion is discontinuous although the motion of composite bodies is at least apparently continuous, and (3) that atomic motion is grounded in an intrinsic vis motrix, motive power. In contrast, composite bodies simply persist in their state of motion or rest in the absence of outside interference. Unfortunately, Gassendi neglects to explain how his accounts of atomic and composite motion fit together, and it is difficult to see how they could possibly be integrated. My goal is to explain, given this difficulty, why he accepted both the Galilean theory of the motion of composite bodies and the Epicurean theory of atomic motion.
...MoreArticle Fred Ablondi (2015) Introduction: Galileo and Early Modern Philosophy. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (p. 69).
Article
Carla Rita Palmerino;
(2022)
From Active Matter to Inertia, from Celerity to Slowness: the Motion of Atoms and of Compound Bodies in Gassendi’s Physics
(/isis/citation/CBB352728199/)
Article
Enrico Giannetto;
(2020)
Galileo, Descartes and Newton's Laws
(/isis/citation/CBB952708717/)
Chapter
Pietro Daniel Omodeo;
(2015)
Riflessioni sul moto terrestre nel Rinascimento: tra filosofia naturale, meccanica e cosmologia
(/isis/citation/CBB678565435/)
Article
Gattei, Stefano;
(2013)
Galileo and Tennis: Reconciling the New Physics with Commonsense
(/isis/citation/CBB001252889/)
Chapter
Patricia Radelet-de-Grave;
(2015)
La chute des corps, le mouvement des corps célestes et l'unification des mondes
(/isis/citation/CBB951522195/)
Chapter
Schemmel, Matthias;
(2012)
Thomas Harriot as an English Galileo: The Force of Shared Knowledge in Early Modern Mechanics
(/isis/citation/CBB001252678/)
Article
Luigi Guerrini;
(2014)
Pereira and Galileo: Acceleration in Free Fall and Impetus Theory
(/isis/citation/CBB609816908/)
Chapter
Roux, Sophie;
(2006)
Découvrir le principe d'inertie
(/isis/citation/CBB001024285/)
Book
Luthy, Christoph;
Murdoch, John E.;
Newman, William R.;
(2001)
Late Medieval and Early Modern Corpuscular Matter Theories
(/isis/citation/CBB000100046/)
Book
Anna De Pace;
(2020)
Galileo lettore di Copernico
(/isis/citation/CBB163414161/)
Chapter
Galluzzi, Paolo;
(2001)
Gassendi and l'Affaire Galilée of the Laws of Motion
(/isis/citation/CBB000202413/)
Chapter
Beretta, Marco;
(2009)
Lucretius as Hidden Auctoritas of the Cimento
(/isis/citation/CBB001020768/)
Book
Hetherington, Norriss S.;
(2006)
Planetary Motions: A Historical Perspective
(/isis/citation/CBB000700848/)
Article
Palmerino, Carla Rita;
(2011)
The Isomorphism of Space, Time and Matter in Seventeenth-Century Natural Philosophy
(/isis/citation/CBB001220180/)
Book
Wallace, William A.;
(2004)
Domingo de Soto and the Early Galileo: Essays on Intellectual History
(/isis/citation/CBB000470152/)
Book
Lewis, John;
(2006)
Galileo in France: French Reactions to the Theories and Trial of Galileo
(/isis/citation/CBB000930983/)
Book
Nonnoi, Giancarlo;
(2000)
Saggi Galileiani: Atomi, immagini e ideologia
(/isis/citation/CBB000100278/)
Article
Gómez López, Susana;
(2008)
The Mechanization of Light in Galilean Science
(/isis/citation/CBB000931294/)
Book
Galluzzi, Paolo;
(2011)
Tra atomi e indivisibili: la materia ambigua di Galileo
(/isis/citation/CBB001252615/)
Article
Giannetto, Enrico;
(2012)
Galileo, Modern Science and the Principle of Inertia
(/isis/citation/CBB001450809/)
Be the first to comment!