E-Books →Descartes on Mathematics, Method and Motion On the Role of Cartesian Physics in the Scientific Revolution

Free Download Descartes on Mathematics, Method and Motion: On the Role of Cartesian Physics in the Scientific Revolution (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy) by Ladislav Kvasz
English | April 27, 2024 | ISBN: 303157060X | 88 pages | MOBI | 0.50 Mb
This book argues that Descartes' physics was a milestone on the road to modern mathematical physics. After Newton introduced a completely different approach to mathematical description of motion, Descartes' physics became obsolete and even difficult to comprehend. This text follows the language of Descartes and the means of which motion can be described. It argues that Descartes achieved almost everything that later Newton was able to do―to describe the motion of interacting bodies- by different (i.e. algebraic) means. This volume completely refutes the received view according to which Descartes' physics was merely a kind of discursive natural philosophy. To make this interpretation more plausible the book follows Descartes' ideas from his early work in mathematics, through his invention of the analytic method towards his mature physics. It shows that Descartes followed a similar heuristic pattern.