Alle origini del principio dei lavori virtuali. La fisica del movimento

In this brief note, we investigate the impact of Pseudo-Aristotle’s Mechanical Questions on modern physics. In particular, we show how they contrast with Archimedes’ statics, which is based on the notion of equilibrium. For the Pseudo- Aristotle, instead, the notion of displacements plays a central role. We then see how Guidobaldo del Monte tries to reconcile Archimedes with Pseudo-Aristotle and how Bernardino Baldi deeply understands the meaning of the Mechanical Questions. Our considerations show how modern physics has increasingly explicitly abandoned Aristotle’s dynamic view of nature.