With his experiments Guericke disproved the hypothesis of "horror vacui", that nature abhors a vacuum. Aristotle (e.g. in Physics IV 6–9) had argued against the existence of the void and his views commanded near-universal endorsement by philosophers and scientists up to the 17th century. Guericke showed that substances were not pulled by a vacuum, but were pushed by the pressure of the surrounding fluids.
With his experiments Guericke disproved the hypothesis of "horror vacui" that nature abhors a vacuum Aristotle (eg in Physics IV 6–9) had argued against the existence of the void and his views commanded near-universal endorsement by philosophers and scientists up to the 17th century Guericke showed that substances were not pulled by a vacuum but were pushed by the pressure of the surrounding fluids