The rising of galilean mechanics: history and historiography

Abstract

I'll try to identify the basis of the new Galilean dynamics in few critical and creative turning points. This way I pretend to undertake the challenge posit by H. F. Cohen remarking that "the problem is not to explain the way in which Galileo became aware of Greek legacy, but to explain the way he managed to transcend this legacy". The main points here considered are: the idea of natural places of Aristotle's physics, the concept of specific weight of Archimedes' static, Avempace's concept of virtus motiva and Nemorarius' notion of virtual velocity. In basis of this analysis I'll propose a general argument on the limited scope of sociological explanations in history of science.

Scientific revolution; Galilean dynamics; Historiography of science; Galileo