Setting the record straight on Aristotle

It is a common myth that Galileo refuted Aristotle's claim that heavier things fall faster than lighter things. In fact the words the Galileo attributes to Aristotle are nowhere to be found in Aristotle's works.

Physicist Carlo Rovelli published a paper rehabilitating the physics of Aristotle which can be found here https://arxiv.org/pdf/1312.4057.pdf

Quote:

The bad reputation of Aristotle’s physics is undeserved, and leads to widespread ignorance: think for a moment, do you really believe that bodies of different weight fall at the same speed? Why don’t you just try: take a coin and piece of paper and let them fall. Do they fall at the same speed? Aristotle never claimed that bodies fall at different speed “if we take away the air”. He was interested in the speed of real bodies falling in our real world, where air or water is present. It is curious to read everywhere “Why didn’t Aristotle do the actual experiment?”. I would retort: “Those writing this, why don’t they do the actual experiment?”. They would find Aristotle right.

In case you think he is being overly generous to Aristotle, here is part of "On the Heavens" where Aristotle is explicit that he is talking about an object going through a medium:

Quote:

But since here are two factors, the force responsible for the downward motion of the heavy body and the disruption-resisting force of the continuous surface, there must be some ratio between the two. For in proportion as the force applied by the heavy thing towards disruption and division exceeds that which resides in the continuum, the quicker will it force its way down;

Aristotle also mentions the shape as being a factor - that a round or needle shaped object will fall or sink faster than a flat object.

Still, Galileo did refute another claim of Aristotle, that of some objects possessing absolute levity, even proposing an experiment that Aristotle could have done. That is not so well known, possibly because it is a little more difficult to explain.

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/2HcM5nz