Natural philosophy

In physics, a force is an action that can cause an object to change its velocity or its shape, or to resist other forces, or to cause changes of pressure in a fluid. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the magnitude and direction of a force are both important, force is a vector quantity (force vector). The SI unit of force is the newton (N), and force is often represented by the symbol .

thumb|A researcher working on an optical system|300x300px

thumb|15th century depiction of an Ouroboros from the alchemical treatise '' (Zurich, Rheinau 172'').

1687 work by Isaac Newton describing his laws of motion and gravitation

thumb|The Big Bang theory of modern cosmology postulates the universe evolved from a hot dense state. Cosmogony, also spelled as cosmogeny, or cosmogenesis, is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe.

group of constituent basic elements of matter (water, earth, fire, air and sometimes aether), used to explain nature patterns since ancient times

ancient philosophical study of nature and physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science. It is considered to be the precursor of natural science

thumb|upright=1.3|Sphera volgare, featuring the Sun, the [[Moon, the winds and the stars as living. Woodcut illustration from an edition of De sphaera mundi, Venice, 1537.]]

British scientific journal published by the Royal Society

concept associated with Aristotelian philosophy in which all forms of life on the planet exist in ranked order, from the most to the least important, in a "ladder of life"

branch of philosophy relating to spatiality and temporality

theory

book by Descartes

concept similar to inertia and momentum

Organicism is the philosophical position that states that the universe and its various parts (including human societies) ought to be considered alive and naturally ordered, much like a living organism. Vital to the position is the idea that organicistic elements are not dormant "things" per se but rather dynamic components in a comprehensive system that is, as a whole, everchanging. Organicism is related to but remains distinct from holism insofar as it prefigures holism; while the latter concept is applied more broadly to universal part-whole interconnections such as in anthropology and socio

physical quantity, historically invented by G. Leibniz, equivalent to (in modern terminology) twice the kinetic energy

scientific journal established in 1798

school of Chinese philosophy, explaining the universe in terms of basic natural forces in nature (yin–yang, the five elements)

"all flows", aphorism of Plato or Heraclites

belief in numerous life-bearing "worlds"

thumb|Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (1775–1854), considered the primary figure of Naturphilosophie "Naturphilosophie" (German for "nature-philosophy") is a term used in English-language philosophy to identify a current in the philosophical tradition of German idealism, as applied to the study of nature in the earlier 19th century. German speakers use the clearer term "Romantische Naturphilosophie", the philosophy of nature developed at the time of the founding of German Romanticism. It is particularly associated with the philosophical work of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Geo

Latin axiom in natural philosophy

book by René Descartes

belief that natural wholes are composed of parts lacking any intrinsic relationship to each other

attempts to explain the action of gravity by aid of basic mechanical processe

philosophical concept

Theory of speed in physics

thumb|Springtime by Émile Vernon, an artistic depiction of seasonal vitality Vitality (, , ) is the capacity to live, grow, or develop. Vitality is also the characteristic that distinguishes living from non-living things. To experience vitality is regarded as a basic psychological drive and, in philosophy, a component to the will to live. As such, people seek to maximize their vitality or their experience of vitality—that which corresponds to an enhanced physiological capacity and mental state.

scientific journal