Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution
- The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables and Figures
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction The Disciplinary Revolutions of Early Modern Philosophy and Science
- Part I The Disciplines
- Part II Disciplinary Activities
- Part III Problems and Controversies
- 17 Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius and Its Reception
- 18 Instruments and the Senses
- 19 Science of Mind
- 20 Circulation and the New Physiology
- 21 From Metaphysical Principles to Dynamical Laws
- 22 The Debate About Body and Extension
- 23 Space and Its Relationship to God
- 24 The Vis Viva Controversy
- Bibliography
- Index
22 - The Debate About Body and Extension
from Part III - Problems and Controversies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2022
- The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution
- The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables and Figures
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction The Disciplinary Revolutions of Early Modern Philosophy and Science
- Part I The Disciplines
- Part II Disciplinary Activities
- Part III Problems and Controversies
- 17 Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius and Its Reception
- 18 Instruments and the Senses
- 19 Science of Mind
- 20 Circulation and the New Physiology
- 21 From Metaphysical Principles to Dynamical Laws
- 22 The Debate About Body and Extension
- 23 Space and Its Relationship to God
- 24 The Vis Viva Controversy
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In the Scientific Revolution the concept of body evolved along several divergent lines, from conceptions that rely exclusively on extension and motion to more elaborate accounts that include attributes such as solidity and force. A host of complications were disputed, such as atomism versus the infinite divisibility of bodies, the distinction between primary and secondary properties, and the possibility of a vacuum. This chapter explores these and other issues, but with an emphasis on the relationship between body and spatial extension. Descartes's three-part distinction—i.e., whether the relationship between body and extension is conceptually, modally, or really distinct—serves as a framework for investigating the development of early modern theories of material body, a process that laid the basis for the ontology and epistemology of modern science.
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- The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution , pp. 406 - 423Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022