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river abruptly arrived at a sharp bend, the boats would follow
Descartes third law of motion and hit the shore of the river since the flow of the particles in the river would not have enough force to change the direction of the boat. However, the much lighter floating debris would follow the river since the particles in the river would have sufficient force to change the direction of the debris. In the heavens, it’s the circular flow of celestial particles, or
711:. The particles of the aether have greater agitation than the particles of air, which in turn have greater agitation than the particles that compose terrestrial objects (e.g. stones). The greater agitation of the aether prevents the particles of air from escaping into the heavens, just as the agitation of air particles forces terrestrial bodies, whose particles have far less agitation than those of air, to descend towards the world.
36:
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Descartes believed nature was without a void. To illustrate this, Descartes used the example of a stick being pushed against some body. Just as the force which is felt at one end of the stick is instantly transferred and felt at the other end, so is the impulse of light that is sent across the heavens and through the atmosphere from luminous bodies to our eyes. Descartes attributed light to have 12 distinct properties:
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belief that such a relationship existed. Next he describes how fire is capable of breaking wood apart into its minuscule parts through the rapid motion of the particles of fire within the flames. This rapid motion of particles is what gives fire its heat, since
Descartes claims heat is nothing more
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With his laws of motion set forth and the universe operating under these laws, Descartes next begins to describe his theory on the nature of light. Descartes believed that light traveled instantaneously - a common belief at the time – as an impulse across all the adjacent particles in nature, since
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Descartes elaborates on how the universe could have started from utter chaos and with these basic laws could have had its particles arranged so as to resemble the universe we observe today. Once the particles in the chaotic universe began to move, the overall motion would have been circular because
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According to
Descartes, the motion, or agitation, of these particles is what gives substances their properties (i.e. their fluidity and hardness). Fire is the most fluid and has enough energy to render most other bodies fluid whereas the particles of air lack the force necessary to do the same.
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of the planets about the Sun with the heavier objects spinning out towards the outside of the vortex and the lighter objects remaining closer to the center. To explain this, Descartes used the analogy of a river that carried both floating debris (leaves, feathers, etc.) and heavy boats. If the
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Descartes describes substances as consisting only of three elementary elements: fire, air and earth, from which the properties of any substance can be characterized by its composition of these elements, the size and arrangement of the particles in the substance, and the motion of its particles.
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Before
Descartes begins to describe his theories in physics, he introduces the reader to the idea that there is no relationship between our sensations and what creates these sensations, thereby casting doubt on the
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there is no void in nature, so whenever a single particle moves, another particle must also move to occupy the space where the previous particle once was. This type of circular motion, or
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for "suspicion of heresy" and sentencing to house arrest. Descartes discussed his work on the book, and his decision not to release it, in letters with another philosopher,
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659:“…when one of these bodies pushes another, it cannot give the 2nd any motion, except by losing as much of its own motion at the same time…”
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656:“…each particular part of matter always continues in the same state unless collision with others forces it to change its state.”
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As to the reason why heavy objects on Earth fall, Descartes explained this through the agitation of the particles in the
662:“…when a body is moving…each of its parts individually tends always to continue moving along a straight line” (Gaukroger)
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popular in the 17th century. He thought everything physical in the universe to be made of tiny "corpuscles" of matter.
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presents a corpuscularian cosmology in which swirling vortices explain, among other phenomena, the creation of the
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11) and 12) The force of a ray can be augmented or diminished by the disposition of the matter that receives it.
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That the Face of the Heaven of That New World Must Appear to Its
Inhabitants Completely like That of Our World
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Descartes asserts several laws governing the motion of these particles and all other objects in nature:
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the heliocentric tone was softened slightly with a relativist frame of reference. The last chapter of
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On the Origin and the Course of the
Planets and Comets in General; and of Comets in Particular
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442:(1596–1650). Written between 1629 and 1633, it contains a nearly complete version of his
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Description of a New World, and on the
Qualities of the Matter of Which it is Composed
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If the rays are of very unequal force, then they can sometimes impede one another
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Hard bodies have particles that are all equally hard to separate from the whole.
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On the Void, and How it
Happens that Our Senses Are Not Aware of Certain Bodies
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Several rays can start at the same point and travel in different directions
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477:. The main difference was that Descartes maintained that there could be no
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851:. New York: Abaris Books, 1979. (French and English text on facing pages)
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On the
Difference Between our Sensations and the Things That Produce Them
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Several rays can pass through the same point without impeding each other
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than just the motion of particles, and what causes it to produce light.
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Several rays can come from different points and meet at the same point
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On the
Planets in General, and in Particular on the Earth and Moon
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The Cambridge history of seventeenth-century philosophy: Volume I
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The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy
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778:(Repr., paperback ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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9) and 10) Rays can be diverted by reflection or by refraction
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Light extends radially in all direction from luminous bodies
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was finally published in 1664, and the entire text in 1677.
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Mechanical explanations of gravitation § Vortex Theory
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Based on his observations of how resistant nature is to a
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On the Formation of the Sun and the Stars of the New World
507:. Descartes delayed the book's release upon news of the
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704:, that causes the motion of the planets to be circular.
695:, would have created what Descartes observed to be the
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60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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733:Light travels ordinarily in straight lines or rays
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580:On the Number of Elements and on Their Qualities
489:and the circular motion of planets around the
865:. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
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503:view, first explicated in Western Europe by
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571:In What the Heat and Light of Fire Consists
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120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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586:On the Laws of Nature of this New World
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58:adding citations to reliable sources
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776:Descartes an intellectual biography
294:Rules for the Direction of the Mind
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847:. Translation and introduction by
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845:Le Monde, ou Traite de la lumiere
727:Light extends out to any distance
939:Philosophy of science literature
615:The void and particles in nature
436:Traité du monde et de la lumière
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929:Historical physics publications
526:was revised for publication as
319:Meditations on First Philosophy
45:needs additional citations for
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601:On the Ebb and Flow of the Sea
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853:Mahoney's English translation
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640:or empty space between them.
859:The World and Other Writings
544:was published separately as
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672:added to these his laws on
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607:On the Properties of Light
347:Christina, Queen of Sweden
869:Melchert, Norman (2002).
715:Cartesian theory on light
574:On Hardness and Liquidity
362:Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
217:Causal adequacy principle
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669:Principles of Philosophy
648:Cartesian laws of motion
533:Principles of Philosophy
324:Principles of Philosophy
949:Works by René Descartes
552:) in 1662. The rest of
309:Discourse on the Method
799:Daniel Garber (2003).
680:The Cartesian universe
528:Principia philosophiae
473:is closely related to
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27:Book by René Descartes
684:Further information:
463:mechanical philosophy
427:Treatise on the Light
410:
69:"The World" book
18:The World (Descartes)
849:Michael Sean Mahoney
329:Passions of the Soul
299:The Search for Truth
54:improve this article
522:Some material from
461:Descartes espoused
352:Nicolas Malebranche
222:Mind–body dichotomy
190:Doubt and certainty
934:Natural philosophy
467:natural philosophy
446:, from method, to
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367:Francine Descartes
212:Trademark argument
863:Stephen Gaukroger
857:Descartes, René.
843:Descartes, René.
838:Le Monde, L'Homme
836:Descartes, René,
812:978-0-521-53720-9
674:elastic collision
511:'s conviction of
509:Roman Inquisition
471:Corpuscularianism
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257:Balloonist theory
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227:Analytic geometry
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110:November 2011
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487:Solar System
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465:, a form of
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314:La Géométrie
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268:Res cogitans
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262:Wax argument
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170:Cartesianism
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52:Please help
47:verification
44:
924:1630s books
448:metaphysics
411:Descartes'
275:Res extensa
175:Rationalism
908:Categories
831:References
785:0198237243
709:atmosphere
538:Principles
505:Copernicus
444:philosophy
207:Evil demon
164:Philosophy
80:newspapers
861:. Trans.
598:On Weight
562:The World
554:The World
546:De Homine
542:The World
524:The World
497:The World
483:The World
421:The World
304:The World
185:Mechanism
818:27 April
604:On Light
413:Le Monde
139:a series
137:Part of
638:no void
513:Galileo
475:atomism
456:biology
452:physics
434:title:
94:scholar
881:
809:
782:
749:Also:
702:aether
697:orbits
693:vortex
634:vacuum
550:On Man
479:vacuum
432:French
415:, 1664
341:People
242:Folium
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761:Notes
450:, to
288:Works
101:JSTOR
87:books
879:ISBN
820:2013
807:ISBN
780:ISBN
454:and
73:news
530:or
491:Sun
56:by
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