After reconstructing some fetures of the Scholastic treatment of contingency in natural philosophy, this paper draws a comparison between Descartes’ treatments of the issue of the laws of nature in Le Monde (1629-1633) and in the Principles of Philosophy (1644). On the basis of this comparison, it argues that elements of the Scholastic understanding of contingency as due to the impediment provided by matter are still present in the former. While in the Principles Descartes appears to equate contingency with an epistemological limitation in our understanding of the complexity of natural phenomena, in the conclusion I argue that some elements of his previous approach to the issue remains in his treatment of curvilinear motion.

Descartes’ Physics in Le Monde and the Late-Scholastic Idea of Contingency

Rodolfo Garau
2019-01-01

Abstract

After reconstructing some fetures of the Scholastic treatment of contingency in natural philosophy, this paper draws a comparison between Descartes’ treatments of the issue of the laws of nature in Le Monde (1629-1633) and in the Principles of Philosophy (1644). On the basis of this comparison, it argues that elements of the Scholastic understanding of contingency as due to the impediment provided by matter are still present in the former. While in the Principles Descartes appears to equate contingency with an epistemological limitation in our understanding of the complexity of natural phenomena, in the conclusion I argue that some elements of his previous approach to the issue remains in his treatment of curvilinear motion.
2019
Contingency and Natural Order in Early Modern Science
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
page from Contingency-and-natural-order-in-early-modern-science[Omodeo_Garau_2019]pdf.pdf

non disponibili

Descrizione: Versione stampata dell'articolo
Tipologia: Versione dell'editore
Licenza: Accesso chiuso-personale
Dimensione 1.93 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.93 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri
Descartesì Physics in Le Monde...Contingency (1).pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Documento in Post-print
Licenza: Accesso gratuito (solo visione)
Dimensione 500.2 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
500.2 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in ARCA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/3718986
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 0
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact