ABSTRACT
In 1686, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz publically set down some thoughts on Rene Descartes' mechanics. In so doing, he initiated the famous dispute concerning the "force" of a moving body known as the vis viva controversy. Two concepts, now momentum and kinetic energy, were discussed as a single concept, "force," each differing from Newton's idea of force. The controversy had its roots in Descartes' law of the quantity of motion, as discussed in his Principia philosophiae of 1644. It was Descartes' belief that God, the general cause of all motion in the universe, preserves the same quantity of motion and rest put into the world at the time of creation. Denis Papin promises publicly that if any method can be indicated by which all the moving forces of the greater body can be transferred to the smaller body at rest without the occurrence of a miracle, he will concede the victory to Leibniz.
