From the closed world to the infinite universe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Koyré, Alexandre, 1892-1964.

Series:

Publications of the Institute of the History of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins University. Hideyo Noguchi lectures ; Third series, v. 7.

Publications of the Institute of the History of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins University. 3d ser.: The Hideyo Noguchi lectures, v. 7

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cosmology.

Physical Description:

x, 313 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Edition:

Johns Hopkins paperback edition.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins Press, 1968.

Summary:

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a radical change occurred in the patterns and framework of European thought. In the wake of discoveries through the telescope and Copernican theory, the notion of an ordered cosmos of 'fixed stars' gave way to that of a universe infinite in both time and space - with significant and far-reaching consequences for human thought. Alexandre Koyre interprets this revolution in terms of the change that occurred in our conception of the universe and our place in it and shows the primacy of this change in the development of the modern world.

Contents:

I. The Sky and the Heavens Nicholas of Cusa and Marcellus Paligenius 5

II. The New Astronomy and the New Metaphysics N. Copernicus, Th. Digges, G. Bruno and W. Gilbert 28

III. The New Astronomy against the New Metaphysics Johannes Kepler's Rejection of Infinity 58

IV. Things Never Seen Before and Thoughts Never Thought: the Discovery of New Stars in the World Space and the Materialization of Space Galieo and Descartes 88

V. Indefinite Extension or Infinite Space Descartes and Henry More 110

VI. God and Space, Spirit and Matter Henry More 125

VII. Absolute Space, Absolute Time and Their Relations to God Malebranche, Newton and Bentley 155

VIII. The Divinization of Space Joseph Raphson 190

IX. God and the World: Space, Matter, Ether and Spirit Isaac Newton 206

X. Absolute Space and Absolute Time: God's Frame of Action Berkeley and Newton 221

XI. The Work-Day God and the God of the Sabbath Newton and Leibniz 235

XII. Conclusion: The Divine Artifex and the Dieu Faineant 273

Figure 1. Typical pre-Copernican diagram of the universe 7

Figure 2. Thomas Digges's diagram of the infinite Copernican universe 37

Figure 3. The figure M of Kepler 79

Figure 4. Galileo's star-picture of the shield and sword of Orion 93.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0801803470

OCLC:

16673411