Gassendi’s atoms were active and self-moving, unlike later inert mechanist corpuscles

Evidence

Gassendi’s mechanical philosophy supposed the unchanging constituents of reality to be solid, impenetrable, corporeal atoms that retained their identity through change. They had the properties of extension, shape, weight, and an internal force of motion. Although the atoms and corpuscles of later mechanists were inert and passive, Gassendi’s atoms, like those of Epicurus, were endowed with an “internal energy” and were therefore active and in motion. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 788

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the technical distinction between active Gassendian atoms and later passive/inert mechanistic corpuscles — useful shared course vocabulary.