Studies of the Early Modern debate concerning absolute and relative space and motion often ignore the significance of the concept of true motion in this debate. Even philosophers who denied the existence of absolute space maintained that true motions could be distinguished from merely apparent ones. In this paper, I examine Berkeley's endorsement of this distinction and the problems it raises. First, Berkeley's endorsement raises a problem of consistency with his other philosophical commitments, namely his idealism. Second, Berkeley's endorsement raises a problem of adequacy, namely whether Berkeley can provide an adequate account of what grounds the distinction between true and merely apparent motion. In this paper, I argue that sensitivity to Berkeley's distinction between what is true in the metaphysical, scientific, and vulgar domains can address both the consistency and the adequacy problems. I argue that Berkeley only accepts true motion in the scientific and vulgar domains, and not the metaphysical. There is thus no inconsistency between his endorsement of true motion in science and ordinary language, and his metaphysical idealism. Further, I suggest that sensitivity to these three domains shows that Berkeley possesses resources to give an adequate account of how true motions are discovered in natural science.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Lorenzo Spagnesi;
(2023)
Regulative idealization: A Kantian approach to idealized models
Book
Eric Schliesser;
(2021)
Newton's Metaphysics: Essays
Article
Schmaltz, Tad M.;
(2003)
Cartesian Causation: Body--Body Interaction, Motion, and Eternal Truths
Book
Andrew Janiak;
(2020)
Space: A History
Book
Katerina Kolozova;
William Paul Cockshott;
Greg Michaelson;
(2024)
Defending Materialism: The Uneasy History of the Atom in Science and Philosophy
Book
Molly A. Wallace;
Concetta V. Principe;
(2022)
From Cogito to Covid: Rethinking Lacan’s “Science and Truth”
Article
Bovens, Luc;
Fitelson, Branden;
Hartmann, Stephan;
Snyder, Josh;
(2002)
Too Odd (Not) to Be True? A Reply to Olsson
Article
John Henry;
Steffen Ducheyne;
(2021)
Letter to the Editor
Article
Stephen Harrop;
(2025)
Spinoza on Space and Motion
Book
Luc Peterschmitt;
(2011)
Berkeley et la chimie : une philosophie pour la chimie au XVIIIe siècle
Article
Schemmel, Matthias;
(2014)
Medieval Representations of Change and Their Early Modern Application
Article
Roger Smith;
(2021)
The Senses of Touch and Movement and the Argument for Active Powers
Article
Laurynas Adomaitis;
(2019)
Equivalence of hypotheses and Galilean censure in Leibniz: A conspiracy or a way to moderate censure?
Book
Mary Domski;
(2021)
Newton's Third Rule and the Experimental Argument for Universal Gravity
Article
DiSalle, Robert;
(2013)
The Transcendental Method from Newton to Kant
Article
Pesic, Peter;
(2014)
Francis Bacon, Violence, and the Motion of Liberty: The Aristotelian Background
Book
Laura Berchielli;
(2020)
Empiricist Theories of Space: Space and Experience in Early Modern Philosophy
Article
Scott Fennema;
(2019)
George Berkeley and Jonathan Edwards on Idealism: Considering an Old Question in Light of New Evidence
Book
Brunello Lotti;
(2025)
Dalla percezione alla metafisica. Vita e opere di George Berkeley
Book
Ray, Meredith K.;
(2015)
Daughters of Alchemy: Women and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy
Be the first to comment!