Science Common Sense
1460 - What were the scholars' observations and thoughts about the movement of objects before Galileo?
Before Galileo, many scholars had different ideas about how objects move. Here are some of their thoughts:
Aristotle (384-322 BCE): Aristotle believed that objects moved because they wanted to be in their natural place. For example, he thought rocks fell to the ground because their natural place was on the ground. This idea doesn't make sense to us today, but it was a start.
Islamic Scholars (around 800-1500 CE): Some Islamic scholars, like Ibn Bajjah and Ibn Rushd, thought about how objects moved and explained that objects kept moving because they were pushed or pulled by an outside force. This idea was a step closer to the truth.
Medieval Scholars (around 1000-1500 CE): Medieval scholars, like Thomas Bradwardine, thought that objects moved in a straight line until a force made them stop or change direction. They were getting closer to understanding how objects move.
But they didn't really understand how things moved until Galileo came along and did some experiments that showed objects move at a constant speed unless a force stops or changes them.