Walter Burley on Motion in a Vacuum

We all ‘know’ that medieval Aristotelians did not believe that a vacuum was possible, and we are complacent in our ‘knowledge’ that they were wrong. Even if we have an inkling of the sophistication of much medieval thinking on this topic, we are unlikely to suppose that anything medievals had to say...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Traditio
Main Author: Wood, Rega (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Cambridge University Press 1990
In: Traditio
Year: 1990, Volume: 45, Pages: 191-217
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:We all ‘know’ that medieval Aristotelians did not believe that a vacuum was possible, and we are complacent in our ‘knowledge’ that they were wrong. Even if we have an inkling of the sophistication of much medieval thinking on this topic, we are unlikely to suppose that anything medievals had to say on the subject is worth the trouble to study. What we may not realize is that not all medievals thought a vacuum or motion in a vacuum was impossible; following Avempace, in fact, many medieval philosophers argued that motion in a vacuum was possible, at least in theory.
ISSN:2166-5508
Contains:Enthalten in: Traditio
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0362152900012733