Kepler & Galileo: Building Blocks of Newton's Universal Gravitation - Essay Sample

Briefly discuss how Kepler and Galileo both contribute to Newton's final account of universal gravitation.

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Before Newton's theorization of the universal gravitation Kepler and Galileo had already developed the view of nature. Galileo played a significant role in the development of new conceptualizations of science but Newton took Kepler and the later ideas and developed them further to form the universal gravitation argument. As such, Newton played the role of a unifier by bringing together scientific knowledge that had been developed by Kepler and Galileo. Galileo primary contribution to Newton's universal gravitation involved the establishment of the laws of motion for the masses. The law of motion was based on establishing accurate observations on the body's acceleration regardless of their sizes. As such, the primary concept developed by Galileo was that force was due to motion and velocity was due to speed in a direction (Hsiang & Straume, 2014).

The natural state of an object according to Galileo at rest is uniform motion and that objects could resist change an aspect that Galileo termed as inertia. On the other hand, Kepler contributed to Newton's universal gravitation Tycho Brahe's observation which explained the Kinematic explanation of the orbits. These contributed immensely in Newton's universal gravitational rule. The first law explains the elliptic orbits in that every planet moves in an elliptical orbit with the sun remain constant. Newton unified the Kepler and Galileo observation of energy and motion. Newton further expanded Kepler's laws by holding that change in velocity which is equal to the acceleration caused by force (Hsiang & Straume, 2014). Newton's universal gravitation held that Galileo's observation that objects pulled towards the center of the earth. Newton expanded this knowledge by establishing that the same force (gravity) caused orbits of the plants around the sun in the solar system.

Briefly discuss each of the 3 distinctions below, being sure to include what each of the distinctions amounts to, and what it is that each is for or achieves. How does each of these distinctions play a role in the mechanical philosophy?

The Distinction Between Primary and Secondary Qualities

The primary qualities refers to the intrinsic properties of matter that are exemplified by the physical qualities such as size and the shape and exists intrinsically inside the body and can create a mental picture of the object. On the other hand, the secondary qualities refers to the properties that are sensational in nature such as color, smell, taste and the sound. Qualities according to Locke refers to the power to create ideas in our minds and the different types of qualities (objects) can be differentiated based on the type of ideas within the mind. The primary quality according to Locke has a physical form whereas the secondary qualities is a sensation. Both the primary and the secondary qualities are instrumental in establishing the property of an object. As such, the primary qualities lead to the creation of ideas that resemble the qualities of the actual object whereas the secondary qualities produce ideas that are not identical to the qualities because they only exist in the mind. Therefore, the primary qualities are constituents of matter and cannot be separated from the object. Further, the primary and secondary qualities notes that the mechanical philosophy of matter occurs due to the primary qualities impact on the human senses which leads to the perception of the secondary qualities.

The Distinction Between Manifest and Occult Properties

Manifest properties refers to the capacity of things to appear as they are in their natural state. Therefore, the manifest properties are in themselves the ways in which they appear and there is no need for mental intermediary for a concept or representative to appear as manifest properties. In the contrary, occult properties are the properties that does not have any rational explanation. For instance, gravity in the middle ages was viewed as an occult property. The primary difference between manifest and the occult properties is nominal in that occult properties are more common and they are given labels such as heat. Occult properties in mechanical philosophy means that abstract elements such as gravity can be explained by improving the ability to probe the invisible world. The manifest properties are hidden and not revealed such as the causes of electric attractions, causes of fermentation, and the magnetic attractions.

The Distinction Between Atomism and Corpuscularism

Corpuscularism refers to the abstract thinking in regard to the world external characteristics without the use of first principles. Corpuscularism seeks to promote the understanding of reality and change based on the particles and motion which is similar to atomism but the former does not make an argument on the existence of the void. Descartes held that there was no existence of a vacuum with all matter moving through other matter. On the other hand, atomism is based on the movement of matter in a void. Corpuscularism can be used to explain sensations which are caused by the different shape and size of the corpuscles. The constant swirling of matter prevents the existence of a void in corpuscularism.

Briefly describe the difference between centrifugal and centripetal forces. How does this distinction figure into Newton's final account of celestial motion?

The difference between centrifugal and the centripetal forces is the direction taken in the exertion of force. The centrifugal force occurs in a circular motion from the center out towards the object. The centripetal force takes place in a radius of an object but from the object to the center (Wowk, 2015). The centripetal force pushes an object to move in a circular path and it is directed inwards to the center of the rotation. The centripetal force is an actual force whereas centrifugal force is an apparent force with the difference being the frames of reference between the two forces. Centripetal and the centrifugal forces aid in the creation of celestial motion. The centripetal force in celestial motion is created by gravity with two bodies being constrained together (Wowk, 2015).

What critique (if any) might Bacon have for Newton's Rules of Reasoning in Philosophy? Are there any of his idols in particular which loom large here?

Newton's reasoning rules are founded on principles of physics necessary to understand his laws. The first rule of reasoning is the principle of parsimony which holds that the simplest explanation is the most likely. The second rule of reasoning holds that special interpretations are not necessary when a reasonable explanation already exists (Ducheyne, 2005). The third rule suggest that the scientific explanation through a scientific investigation should apply in all cases. Finally, the fourth rule of reasoning is based on the scientific theories which are held to be true and build in long lines of evidence from various research and as the evidence changes they are subject to change. Bacon critiques Newton's rule of reasoning through the inductive reasoning which does not require a particular rule and involves greater use of mental faculties to create hypothetical scenarios unlike Newton's rules of reasoning which are rigid. As such, Newton's reasoning seeks to adhere to the spontaneous working of nature whereas Bacon's foundation of reasoning is that it can and should be directed by the purposive action of man through induction (Ducheyne, 2005).

If you believe it is possible to be in relative motion while also at absolute rest, give an original example of your own creation. If you believe it is not possible, explain why as clearly as you can, using your own original example.

It is not possible to be in motion and absolute rest at the same time. This is because rest and motion are relative to each other. For instance, in a moving bust two people are at rest with each other but in motion with the person standing on the roadside. Another example to differentiate the relative motion and absolute rest is the buildings and trees on the roadside which might appear to be at rest but they are in motion with the earth revolving around the sun (Rynasiewicz, 2000). As such, no object can be regarded to be at rest and both scenarios are relative to each other.

What, in your opinion, is the most important advance that Mechanical Natural Philosophy made from the Scholastic Aristotelean Natural Philosophy that it replaced? Describe in detail this aspect of Mechanical Natural Philosophy, as well as the component of Scholastic Aristotelean Natural Philosophy that it replaced. Finally, explain how this aspect of Mechanical Philosophy was an advancement (e.g. in what ways was it better).

Natural philosophy refers to the study of beings that change independent of human beings. The Scholastic Aristotelean Natural Philosophy refers to the intellectual setting of the seventeen century with Aristotle work being based on baccalaureate curriculum (Roux, 2013). In Scholastic Aristotelean Natural Philosophy lectures and learning were based on Aristotle's text and provided guidance on ethics, metaphysics, logic and natural philosophy.

The philosophy was made by medieval schools and followed the work of Aristotle to cover different phenomenon. The Aristotelianism philosophy involved a critical approach to the existing hypothetical doctrines and the emphasis was on knowledge that could be acquired naturally using senses and reason. The Scholastic Aristotelean Natural Philosophy portrayed a perfect existence of nature and organization of the natural world (Roux, 2013).

The Mechanical Natural Philosophy came into being in the seventeen century with its primary outlook into phenomena being through the matter and motion without the reference on the cause and effect aspects from their physical contact (Roux, 2013). It was during this time that majority of philosophers rejected Aristotelianism which had provided the foundation to natural philosophy since 13th century.

The mechanical philosophy was rooted on the Greek atomism which established the theory that everything consists of solid, imperceptible and indivisible matter that is in motion within an empty space. The mechanical philosophers explained natural phenomena in terms of motion, configurations and the collision of small particles of matter (Roux, 2013). Therefore, the advancement of the mechanized philosophy is that it made nature more subjective.

The development of the mechanized philosophy led to the rejection of the Aristotelianism which was seen as more geocentric and could not establish the right foundation for natural philosophy. The mechanization philosophy looked at the world as an interconnected maze whereas the natural philosophy looked at individual aspects of nature differently. Therefore, the mechanical philosophy looks at the universe at a large scale. The mechanical philosophy led to the emergence of illusory and tautological explanation of nature through hypothetical conceptualization with high autonomy of the philosophers in reason (Roux, 2013).

References

Ducheyne, S. (2005). Bacon's Idea and Newton's Practice of Induction. PHILOSOPHICA-GENT-, 76, 115. Retrieved from http://www.philosophica.ugent.be/fulltexts/76-6.pdf

Hsiang, W. Y., & Straume, E. (2014). Revisiting the mathematical synthesis of the laws of Kepler and Galileo leading to Newton's law of universal gravitation. arXiv preprint arXiv:1408.6758.

Roux, S. (2013). An empire divided: French natural philosophy (1670-1690). In The mechanization of natural philosophy (pp. 55-95). Springer, Dordrecht. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-4345-8_3

Rynasiewicz, R. (2000)...