This book presents studies of self-motion by an international group of basic and applied researchers including biologists, psychologists, comparative physiologists, kinesiologists, aerospace and control engineers, physicians, and physicists. Academia is well represented and accounts for most of the applied research offered. Basic theoretical research is further represented by private research companies and also by government laboratories on both sides of the Atlantic. Researchers and students of biology, psychology, physiology, kinesiology, engineering, and physics who have an interest in self-motion -- whether it be underwater, in space, or on solid ground -- will find this volume of interest. This book presents studies of self-motion by an international group of basic and applied researchers including biologists, psychologists, comparative physiologists, kinesiologists, aerospace and control engineers, physicians, and physicists. Academia is well represented and accounts for most of the applied research offered. Basic theoretical research is further represented by private research companies and also by government laboratories on both sides of the Atlantic. Researchers and students of biology, psychology, physiology, kinesiology, engineering, and physics who have an interest in self-motion -- whether it be underwater, in space, or on solid ground -- will find this volume of interest.

The concept of self-motion is not only fundamental in Aristotle's argument for the Prime Mover and in ancient and medieval theories of nature, but it is also central to many theories of human agency and moral responsibility. In this collection of mostly new essays, scholars of classical, Hellenistic, medieval, and early modern philosophy and science explore the question of whether or not there are such things as self-movers, and if so, what their self-motion consists in. They trace the development of the concept of self-motion from its formulation in Aristotle's metaphysics, cosmology, and philosophy of nature through two millennia of philosophical, religious, and scientific thought. This volume contains "Self-Movers" (David Furley), "Aristotle on Self-Motion" (Mary Louise Gill), "Aristotle on Perception, Appetition, and Self-Motion" (Cynthia Freeland), "Self-Movement and External Causation" (Susan Sauvé Meyer), "Aristotle on the Mind's Self-Motion" (Michael Wedin), "Mind and Motion in Aristotle" (Christopher Shields), "Aristotle's Prime Mover" (Aryeh Kosman), "The Transcendence of the Prime Mover" (Lindsay Judson), "Self-Motion in Stoic Philosophy" (David Hahm), "Duns Scotus on the Reality of Self-Change" (Peter King), "Ockham, Self-Motion, and the Will" (Calvin Normore), and "Natural Motion and Its Causes: Newton on the 'Vis Insita' of Bodies" (J. E. McGuire). Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Self-propelled objects (particles, droplets) are autonomous agents that can convert energy from the environment into motion. These motions include nonlinear behaviour such as oscillations, synchronization, bifurcation, and pattern formation. In recent years, there has been much interest in self-propelled objects for their potential role in mass transport or their use as carriers in confined spaces. An improved understanding of self-organized motion has even allowed researchers to design objects for specific motion. This book gives an overview of the principles of self-propelled motion in chemical objects (particles, droplets) far from their thermodynamic equilibrium, at various spatial scales. Theoretical aspects, the characteristics of the motion and the design procedures of such systems are discussed from the viewpoint of nonlinear dynamics and examples of applications for these nonlinear systems are provided. This book is suitable for researchers and graduate students interested in physical and theoretical chemistry as well as soft matter.

The physical processes which initiate and maintain motion have been a major concern of serious investigation throughout the evolution of scientific thought. As early as the fifth century B. C. questions regarding motion were presented as touchstones for the most fundamental concepts about existence. Such wide ranging philosophical issues are beyond the scope of this book, however, consider the paradox of the flying arrow attri buted to Zeno of Elea: An arrow is shot from point A to point B requiring a sequence of time instants to traverse the distance. Now, for any time instant, T, of the sequence the arrow is at a position, Pi' and at Ti+! the i arrow is at Pi+i> with Pi ::I-P+• Clearly, each Ti must be a singular time i 1 unit at which the arrow is at rest at Pi because if the arrow were moving during Ti there would be a further sequence, Til' of time instants required for the arrow to traverse the smaller distance. Now, regardless of the level to which this recursive argument is applied, one is left with the flight of the arrow comprising a sequence of positions at which the arrow is at rest. The original intent of presenting this paradox has been interpreted to be as an argument against the possibility of individuated objects moving in space.

In six parts, this book considers the extent to which computational, neural, and ecological constraints have shaped the mechanisms underlying motion vision: - Early Motion Vision - Motion Signals for Local and Global Analysis - Optical Flow Patterns - Motion Vision in Action - Neural Coding of Motion - Motion in Natural Environments Each topic is introduced by a keynote chapter which is accompanied by several companion articles. Written by an international group of experts in neurobiology, psychophysics, animal behaviour, machine vision, and robotics, the book is designed to explore as comprehensively as possible the present state of knowledge concerning the principal factors that have guided the evolution of motion vision.

A captivating exploration of the changing definitions of life in biology Biological Motion studies the foundational relationship between motion and life. To answer the question, “What is Life?,” prize-winning historian of science Janina Wellmann engages in a transdisciplinary investigation of motion as the most profound definition of living existence. For decades, information and structure have dominated the historiography of the life sciences with its prevailing focus on DNA structure and function. Now more than ever, motion is a crucial theme of basic biological research. Tracing motion from Aristotle’s animal soul to molecular motors, and from medical soft robotics to mathematical analysis, Wellmann locates biological motion at the intersection of knowledge domains and scientific and cultural practices. She offers signposts to mark the sites where researchers, technologies, ideas, and practices opened up new paths in the constitution of the phenomenon of motion. An ambitious rethinking of the life sciences, Biological Motion uncovers the secret life of movement and offers a new account of what it means to be alive.