Rejection of Space-Proportional Speed
Document Type
Book Section
Publication Date
8-29-2021
Publication Title
Science, Method, and Argument in Galileo
Publisher
Springer, Cham
Publisher Location
Cham, Switzerland
Volume
40
First page number:
3
Last page number:
20
Abstract
This essay attempts to provide a critical understanding of the famous passage in Galileo’s Discourse on Two New Sciences where he rejects the idea that the speed of a falling body increases in proportion to the distance traversed. Accordingly, a new English translation of the passage is made. Several inadequacies in the standard translation of it by Crew and De Salvio are exposed. Stillman Drake’s interpretation, based on his discovery of one crucial translation error, is stated and criticized. The traditional interpretation, in accordance with the Merton Rule, is re-examined and shown to be both strengthened by Drake’s discovery and yet unacceptable. And a critical explanation is elaborated, avoiding both uncritical elucidation and misunderstanding criticism.
Controlled Subject
Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642; Physics
Disciplines
Philosophy of Science | Physics
Language
English
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Repository Citation
Finocchiaro, M. A.
(2021).
Rejection of Space-Proportional Speed.
Science, Method, and Argument in Galileo, 40
3-20.
Cham, Switzerland: Springer, Cham.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77147-8_1