John Toland - Contributions To Natural Philosophy

Contributions To Natural Philosophy

Toland influenced Baron d'Holbach's ideas about physical motion. In his Letters to Serena, Toland claimed that rest, or absence of motion, is not merely relative. Actually, for Toland, rest is a special case of motion. When there is a conflict of forces, the body that is apparently at rest is influenced by as much activity and passivity as it would be if it were moving.

Read more about this topic:  John Toland

Famous quotes containing the words contributions to, natural and/or philosophy:

    The vast material displacements the machine has made in our physical environment are perhaps in the long run less important than its spiritual contributions to our culture.
    Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)

    Yet I experienced sometimes that the most sweet and tender, the most innocent and encouraging society may be found in any natural object, even for the poor misanthrope and most melancholy man. There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of nature and has his senses still.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    My philosophy is that to be a director you cannot be subject to anyone, even the head of the studio. I threatened to quit each time I didn’t get my way, but no one ever let me walk out.
    Dorothy Arzner (1900–1979)