This same thought had been expressed by the philosopher George Berkeley in his "De Motu". It is then not clear, in the passages from Mach just mentioned, if the philosopher intended to formulate a new kind of physical action between heavy bodies. This physical mechanism should determine the inertia of bodies, in a way that the heavy and distant bodies of our universe should contribute the most to the inertial forces. More likely, Mach only suggested a mere "redescription of motion in space as experiences that do not invoke the term "space"". What is certain is that Einstein interpreted Mach's passage in the former way, originating a long-lasting debate.