Philosophy of space

Galileo
Galilean and Cartesian theories about space, matter, and motion are at the foundation of
the Scientific Revolution, which is understood to have culminated with the publication
of Newton's Principia in 1687.[5] Newton's theories about space and time helped him explain the
movement of objects. While his theory of space is considered the most influential in Physics, it
emerged from his predecessors' ideas about the same.[6]
As one of the pioneers of modern science, Galileo revised the
established Aristotelian and Ptolemaic ideas about a geocentric cosmos. He backed
the Copernican theory that the universe was heliocentric, with a stationary sun at the center and the
planets—including the Earth—revolving around the sun. If the Earth moved, the Aristotelian belief
that its natural tendency was to remain at rest was in question. Galileo wanted to prove instead that
the sun moved around its axis, that motion was as natural to an object as the state of rest. In other
words, for Galileo, celestial bodies, including the Earth, were naturally inclined to move in circles.
This view displaced another Aristotelian idea—that all objects gravitated towards their designated
natural place-of-belonging.[7]

René Descartes
Descartes set out to replace the Aristotelian worldview with a theory about space and motion as
determined by natural laws. In other words, he sought a metaphysical foundation or
a mechanical explanation for his theories about matter and motion. Cartesian
space was Euclidean in structure—infinite, uniform and flat.[8] It was defined as that which contained
matter; conversely, matter by definition had a spatial extension so that there was no such thing as
empty space.[5]
The Cartesian notion of space is closely linked to his theories about the nature of the body, mind and
matter. He is famously known for his "cogito ergo sum" (I think therefore I am), or the idea that we
can only be certain of the fact that we can doubt, and therefore think and therefore exist. His theories
belong to the rationalist tradition, which attributes knowledge about the world to our ability to think
rather than to our experiences, as the empiricists believe.[9] He posited a clear distinction between
the body and mind, which is referred to as the Cartesian dualism.