ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the movements of water, beginning by a very simple case, that of the waves. The cause of the movement is conceived, on the one hand, as being the life of the water itself, on the other, as being some human or artificial action, such as the movement of oars or of ships. Waves, therefore, are a manifestation of the spontaneous force of water. Hence, two ideas which emerge under the pressure of the interrogatory: the waves are due to the will belonging to the water itself and they are due to man, since they are made for man. According to the child, movements of rise and fall are originally explained in virtue of dynamic reasons which are innocent of any concern with weight. As to weight, the child does not misjudge its importance, but weight is regarded as a symbol of absolute force or resistance, independently of the direction of movement.