In order to better understand the argument between Galileo and Aristotle, we will look at one of Galileo's early unpublished works, De Motu, or On Motion. Here, Galileo works within the Aristotelian framework, his own outlook a bit like Simplicio's. His goal is not to refute but to improve upon Aristotle by supplementing his account with mathematical reasoning inspired by Archimedes writings on the balance, making Aristotle’s theory more consistent with his experiences of moving bodies. But as Galileo attempts to bring together Aristotle, Archimedes, and his own experiences of moving bodies, two different and conflicting understandings of nature emerge.
The lecture should be of interest to the whole community: Galileo will lead us through a consideration of Aristotle's philosophy of nature, Archimedes' balance, and Galileo's inclined planes."
In order to better understand the argument between Galileo and Aristotle, we will look at one of Galileo's early unpublished works, De Motu, or On Motion. Here, Galileo works within the Aristotelian framework, his own outlook a bit like Simplicio's. His goal is not to refute but to improve upon Aristotle by supplementing his account with mathematical reasoning inspired by Archimedes writings on the balance, making Aristotle’s theory more consistent with his experiences of moving bodies. But as Galileo attempts to bring together Aristotle, Archimedes, and his own experiences of moving bodies, two different and conflicting understandings of nature emerge.
The lecture should be of interest to the whole community: Galileo will lead us through a consideration of Aristotle's philosophy of nature, Archimedes' balance, and Galileo's inclined planes."