The Wheel of Aristotle and French Consideration of Galileo's Arguments

Abstract

The paradox of Aristotle's wheel has been the subject of so many scholarly debates that it seems opportune to make these debates the substance of a new study. Galileo saved the subject from oblivion by discusing it on the first day of his Discorsi [1].* Philosophers consider the problem in term of infinitesimal calculus and are grateful to Galileo for having illuslrated the dangers of depending upon intuitive notions. Physical scientists, on the other hand, consider the problem elementary and rarely condescend to examine it seriously. We shall consider the texts and history of this argument, since these areas have been neglected by scientists and philosophers.