The Birth of Physics as an Academic Discipline

Abstract

The chapter deals with the way mathematicians were successful in replacing canonical philosophers nearly completely in the study of natural philosophy, both in research and academic contexts and how they invented an academic discipline that was called simply physics, concerned only with the study of inanimate matter, excluding alchemy. The new conception of physics for at least the whole of the 18th century still continued to be called natural philosophy, and even maintained some of the characteristics of old physics. Following the spread of mechanical and experimental philosophies in the European universities and colleges, the theoretical explanations of natural philosophy were accompanied by experiments, mainly concerning mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics, electricity. Later, especially in France, teaching began to be supported by mathematics. The complex relationship between experimental and mechanical philosophies (and the heuristic role of theories) is also addressed. In principle, experimental philosophy did not require the knowledge of mechanical philosophy. The latter, however, was helpful because it suggested explanatory models and made it possible to make predictions, which if sometimes proved to be false were, however, a starting point. For this reason many experimental philosophers supported mechanical philosophy.