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Kepler's cosmological synthesis : astrology, mechanism and the soul / by Patrick J. Boner.
Van Pelt Library QB36.K4 .B638 2013
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Boner, Patrick, author.
- Series:
- History of science and medicine library ; v. 39.
- History of science and medicine library. Medieval and early modern science ; v. 20.
- History of science and medicine library, 1872-0684 ; volume 39 ; Medieval and early modern science ; volume 20
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Kepler, Johannes, 1571-1630--Philosophy.
- Kepler, Johannes.
- Kepler, Johannes, 1571-1630.
- Astrology--History.
- Astrology.
- History.
- Cosmology--History.
- Cosmology.
- Astronomy--History.
- Astronomy.
- Philosophy.
- Physical Description:
- x, 187 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2013.
- Summary:
- The cosmology of Johannes Kepler remains a mystery. On the one hand, Kepler's speculations on spiritual faculties are seen as the remnants of Renaissance philosophy. On the other, his comparison of the cosmos to a clock summons the mechanical metaphor that shaped modern science. This book explores the inseparable connections between Kepler's vitalistics views and his more enduring accomplishments in astronomy. The key argument is that Kepler's celestial biology' served as a bridge between his revolutionary astronomy and other 'less scientific' interests, particularly astrology. Kepler's Cosmological Synthesis sheds new light on one of the foundational figures of the Scientific Revolution. By uncovering a new form of coherence in Kepler's world picture, it traces the unlikely intersections of mechanism and vitalism that transformed the fabric of the heavens. Book jacket.
- Contents:
- Introduction 1
- 1 Kepler's Vitalistic View of the Heavens: Some Preliminary Remarks 11
- Kepler's Clockwork Metaphor 12
- Spiritual Agency in Kepler's Astrology 33
- Threads of Continuity in Kepler's Cosmology 37
- 2 Kepler's Early Career in Astrology, 1594-1599 39
- Not All Astrologers Created Equally: Kepler's Perception of His Practice 43
- Conserving the Kernel: Kepler's Early Conception of the Astrological Aspects 49
- From the Earth to Humanity: Further Effects of the Astrological Aspects 58
- The Weight of Proof: Observational Evidence for the Astrological Aspects 63
- 3 The New Star of 1604 69
- The Multiple Purposes of On the New Star 75
- The Soul of the Earth: Instinctual Responses to the Astrological Aspects 85
- Finding Middle Ground: The Soul of the Earth and the Surrounding Cosmos 91
- Philosophical Marvel and Theological Miracle: The Many Meaning of the New Star 99
- 4 The Comets of 1607 and 1618 105
- The Role of Divine Providence in Kepler's Cometary Theory 109
- Clarifying Curvature and the Rectilinear Course of Comets 121
- Celestial Sympathy and Earthly Knowledge of Comets 127
- 5 Kepler's Apology 135
- Situating the Soul of the Earth: Elemental Instruments and their Animate Impetus 139
- Configurations and Consonances: The Earthly Orchestra of the Astrological Aspects 158
- Differences over Divinity: Kepler's Final Criticisms of Fludd 163.
- Notes:
- Based on the author's doctoral dissertation, University of Cambridge, 2007.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9789004246089
- 9004246088
- 9789004246096
- 9004246096
- OCLC:
- 842111799
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