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    Descartes' definitions of motion and body are circular an... — Carmelics
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    Descartes' definitions of motion and body are circular and threaten the entire edifice of Cartesian physics.

    Philosophy of LanguageTruth & Knowledge
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

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    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Descartes' Principles II.25 defines motion as transference relative to contiguous bodies, making 'body' a primitive term in the definiens.
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    • 2.Descartes' Principles II.34 then identifies bodies as individuated precisely by their common motion, making 'motion' the primitive term for body.
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    • 3.When each term in a definitional pair derives its content solely from the other, neither term gains independent semantic grounding, producing genuine circularity per Aristotle's Posterior Analytics I.3.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
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    • 1.Leibniz explicitly identified this circularity in his 'Critical Thoughts on Descartes' Principles,' arguing that Cartesian motion lacks a privileged reference frame and thus real physical content.
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    • 2.Without an independent criterion distinguishing which body is 'truly' moving, Cartesian physics cannot adjudicate between kinematically equivalent descriptions, undermining its explanatory ambitions.
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    • 3.A definitional system that fails to determine which descriptions are physically privileged cannot ground the causal laws Descartes derives in Principles II.36–53.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Descartes defines motion as the transference of a body from the surrounding neighborhood of contiguous bodies.
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    • 2.Descartes then defines body as everything which is simultaneously transported (i.e., moves).
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    • 3.Defining motion in terms of bodies, and then defining bodies in terms of motion, results in a circular definition.
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    Related

    A definitional system that fails to determine which descriptions are physically ...Defining motion in terms of bodies, and then defining bodies in terms of motion,...Descartes defines motion as the transference of a body from the surrounding neig...Descartes then defines body as everything which is simultaneously transported (i...
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    Descartes' Principles II.25 defines motion as transference relative to contiguou...Descartes' Principles II.34 then identifies bodies as individuated precisely by ...Leibniz explicitly identified this circularity in his 'Critical Thoughts on Desc...When each term in a definitional pair derives its content solely from the other,...Without an independent criterion distinguishing which body is 'truly' moving, Ca...

    Similar

    Defining motion in terms of bodies, and then defining bodies in terms ...89%Treating motion and body as equally fundamental rather than deriving o...87%Descartes defines motion as the transference of a body from the surrou...79%Descartes then defines body as everything which is simultaneously tran...79%

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    SEP: descartes-physics
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    Nevertheless, Descartes’ hypothesis of motion may sanction a species of relative motion, since his phrase, “considered at rest”, implies that the choice of which bodies are at rest or in motion is purely arbitrary. According to the “relational” theory (or at least the more strict versions of relationism), space, time, and motion are just relations among bodies, and not separately existing entities or properties that are in any way independent of material bodies. Motion only exists as a “relative
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    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit