HST 325 Lecture Notes - Celestial Spheres, Substantial Form, Scientific Revolution
Document Summary
Specifically adherence to christian beliefs: debate on different forms of mechanical philosophy were waged on religious grounds, the success of mechanical philosophy: hailed as a christian triumph, religion and mechanical philo\sophy were linked throughout the seventeenth century. Represented appearance not reality: defined matter as extension and extension as matter. Follows that matter has no properties other than the occupancy of space. Implications of matter redefinition profound: if matter has no properties all it can do is collide and move about. Aristotle: defined matter quite differently, term for things that exist for themselves is what we call physical objects, aristotle argued as a composite of form and matter . Form total collection of qualities or properties that make a thing what it is. Properties must be the attribute of something matter. Sympathies ruled the magical universe : magnetism fell under sympathetic force, renaissance natural magic ran into some opposition from christian authority esp.
