  Correspondingly, both Buridan and Oresme are sceptical, not only about Aristotle’s theory of projectile motion, but also about the related notions of natural place, motion, and rest. They both state – Oresme far more emphatically – that it would be consistent with all we observe if the earth were to rotate while the heavens remained at rest; Oresme and Buridan have, on these grounds, been described as “precursors of Galileo”.