this issue
previous article in this issuenext article in this issue

Preview first page
Document Details :

Title: L'inclinatio ad quietem
Subtitle: Une résistance au mouvement local dans les théories du XIVe siècle?
Author(s): LAVERDIÈRE, Yanick
Journal: Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie Médiévales
Volume: 92    Issue: 2   Date: 2025   
Pages: 385-409
DOI: 10.2143/RTPM.92.2.3295163

Abstract :
Anneliese Maier has repeatedly argued that the medieval theory of impetus differs from a theory of inertia, since, on the impetus view, every mobile body possesses a tendency towards rest (inclinatio ad quietem) that resists its own motion. According to the impetus view, then, a moving body would eventually come to rest even in the absence of external resistance; on the inertia theory, in contrast, the moving body would continue moving in the same way forever in the absence of external forces. However, upon re-examining the sources on which Maier relied, it seems more likely that this supposed tendency towards rest should not be understood as a resistance distinct from the gravity or lightness of moving bodies.

Download article