Ebook: Physics, Cosmology and Astronomy, 1300–1700: Tension and Accommodation
- Tags: History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Astronomy Observations and Techniques, History of Mathematical Sciences
- Series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science 126
- Year: 1991
- Publisher: Springer Netherlands
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- pdf
Habent sua Jata colloquia. The present volume has its ongms in a spring 1984 international workshop held, under the auspices of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, by The Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas of Tel-Aviv University in cooperation with The Van Leer Jerusalem Foundation. It contains twelve of the twenty papers presented at the workshop by the twenty-six participants. As Proceedings of conferences go, it is a good representative of the genre, sharing in the main characteristics of its ilk. It may even be one of the rare instances of a book of Proceed ings whose descriptive title applies equally well to the workshop's topic and to the interrelations between. the various papers it includes. Tension and Accommodation are the key words. Thus, while John Glucker's paper, 'Images of Plato in Late Antiqu ity,' raises, by means of the Platonic example, the problem of interpreta tion of ancient texts, suggesting the assignment of proper weight to the creator of the tradition and not only to his many later interpreters in assessing the proper relationship between originator and commentators, Abraham Wasserstein's 'Hunches that did not come off: Some Prob lems in Greek Science' illustrates the long-lived Whiggish tradition in the history of science and mathematics. As those familiar with my work will undoubtedly note, Wasserstein's position is far removed from my stance on ancient Greek mathematics.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Images of Plato in Late Antiquity....Pages 3-18
Hunches that did not come off: Some Problems in Greek Science....Pages 19-44
Front Matter....Pages 45-45
(AL-)Chemical Foundations for Cosmological Ideas: IBN S?n? on the Geology of an Eternal World....Pages 47-73
Levi Ben Gerson: On Astronomy and Physical Experiments....Pages 75-82
The Astronomy of Rabbi Moses Isserles....Pages 83-98
Front Matter....Pages 99-99
Celestial Incorruptibility in Medieval Cosmology 1200–1687....Pages 101-127
The Oxford Calculators and Mathematical Physics: John Dumbleton’s Summa Logicae et Philosophiae Naturalis, Parts II and III....Pages 129-161
Experiment in Medieval Optics....Pages 163-181
Front Matter....Pages 183-183
The New Celestial Physics of Johannes Kepler....Pages 185-227
Kepler and the Incorporeality of Light....Pages 229-250
Front Matter....Pages 251-251
One Truth or More? Demarcation in the Universe of Discourse....Pages 253-293
Science at the Tuscan Court, 1642–1667....Pages 295-308
Back Matter....Pages 309-327
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Images of Plato in Late Antiquity....Pages 3-18
Hunches that did not come off: Some Problems in Greek Science....Pages 19-44
Front Matter....Pages 45-45
(AL-)Chemical Foundations for Cosmological Ideas: IBN S?n? on the Geology of an Eternal World....Pages 47-73
Levi Ben Gerson: On Astronomy and Physical Experiments....Pages 75-82
The Astronomy of Rabbi Moses Isserles....Pages 83-98
Front Matter....Pages 99-99
Celestial Incorruptibility in Medieval Cosmology 1200–1687....Pages 101-127
The Oxford Calculators and Mathematical Physics: John Dumbleton’s Summa Logicae et Philosophiae Naturalis, Parts II and III....Pages 129-161
Experiment in Medieval Optics....Pages 163-181
Front Matter....Pages 183-183
The New Celestial Physics of Johannes Kepler....Pages 185-227
Kepler and the Incorporeality of Light....Pages 229-250
Front Matter....Pages 251-251
One Truth or More? Demarcation in the Universe of Discourse....Pages 253-293
Science at the Tuscan Court, 1642–1667....Pages 295-308
Back Matter....Pages 309-327
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