Syllabus
1. Traditional description of motion in Aristotelian physics and the problem of its mathematization
2. Aristotle's conception of motion as geometrical transition
3. The Copernican system and its implicit conflict with Aristotelian physics
4. Galileo, his life and his astronomical discoveries
5. Galileo's conception of motion as geometrical flow
6. The shortcomings of Galileo's description of motion
7. Descartes - mathematician, philosopher and physicist
8. Descartes' conception of motion as a dynamic transition
9. Newtonian physics as a critical coming to terms with Descartes
10. Newton's conception of motion as dynamic flow
Annotation
The aim of the course will be the analysis of selected works of Galileo Galilei, René Descartes and Isaac Newton from the point of view of the gradual construction of the mathematical apparatus of physics. We will show what innovations in mathematics were needed for the creation of the mathematical description of motion.