Mechanics and Natural Philosophy in History

Abstract

This entry presents a historical view of the meaning attributed to the terms mechanics and natural philosophy, from a hint to ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance to a special focus on the 18th Century, which represents a turning point for the development of modern physics and science in general. Since we are not concerned with the summation of the histories of natural philosophy and mechanics, but only with their interrelations, this makes a detailed description of the two disciplines unnecessary.