Descartes, Spacetime, and Relational Motion
Philosophy of Science 66 (1):117-139 (1999)
Abstract
This paper examines Descartes' problematic relational theory of motion, especially when viewed within the context of his dynamics, the Cartesian natural laws. The work of various commentators on Cartesian motion is also surveyed, with particular emphasis placed upon the recent important texts of Garber and Des Chene. In contrast to the methodology of most previous interpretations, however, this essay employs a modern "spacetime" approach to the problem. By this means, the role of dynamics in Descartes' theory, which has often been neglected in favor of kinematic factors, is shown to be central to finding a solution to the puzzle of Cartesian motion.Author's Profile
DOI
10.1086/392679
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Citations of this work
On the Cartesian Ontology of General Relativity: Or, Conventionalism in the History of the Substantival‐Relational Debate.Edward Slowik - 2005 - Philosophy of Science 72 (5):1312-1323.
The “dynamics” of Leibnizian relationism: Reference frames and force in Leibniz's plenum.Edward Slowik - 2006 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 37 (4):617-634.
Descartes’ Forgotten Hypotheses on Motion: Kinematic Logic and Relational Transfer.Edward Slowik - 2002 - Journal of Philosophical Research 27:433-448.
Material translations in the Cartesian brain.Nima Bassiri - 2012 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43 (1):244-255.
References found in this work
World enough and space‐time: Absolute versus relational theories of space and time.Robert Toretti & John Earman - 1989 - Philosophical Review 101 (3):723.
Physiologia: Natural Philosophy in Late Aristotelian and Cartesian Thought.Dennis Des Chene - 1996 - Cornell University Press.
Space, time, and spacetime.L. Sklar - 1976 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 172 (3):545-555.
Much Ado About Nothing: Theories of Space and Vacuum From the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution.Edward Grant - 1981 - Cambridge University Press.