Representing Space in the Scientific Revolution

252 Pages·2014·1.23 MB·English

by  David Marshall Miller

REPRESENTING SPACE IN THE SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTION
Thenovelunderstandingofthephysicalworldthatcharacterizedthe
ScientificRevolutiondependedonafundamentalshiftinthewayits
protagonistsunderstoodanddescribedspace.Atthebeginningofthe
seventeenthcentury,spatialphenomenaweredescribedinrelationto
apresupposedcentralpoint;byitsend,spacehadbecomeacenterless
void in which phenomena could be described only by reference to
arbitrary orientations. David Marshall Miller examines both thehis-
torical and philosophical aspects of this far-reaching development,
includingtherejectionoftheideaofheavenlyspheres,theadventof
rectilinear inertia, and the theoretical contributions of Copernicus,
Gilbert,Kepler,Galileo,Descartes,andNewton.Hisrichstudyshows
clearly how the centered Aristotelian cosmos became the oriented
Newtonian universe, and will be of great interest to students and
scholarsofthehistoryandphilosophyofscience.
david marshall miller is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at
IowaStateUniversity.Hehaspublishedarticlesinjournalsincluding
PhilosophyofScienceandHistoryofScience.

REPRESENTING SPACE
IN THE SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTION
DAVID MARSHALL MILLER
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isbn978-1-107-04673-3(hardback)
1. Science–History–17thcentury. 2. Science–Philosophy.
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Contents
Listoffigures pagex
Preface xi
Noteontexts xiii
1 Introduction:centersandorientations 1
1
Thehistoriographicalproblem
4
Explanations,descriptions,frameworks,andtheories
6
Representationsofspace
9
Interrogatingtexts
12
Examples:Aristotle,Epicurus,andNewton
17
Reciprocaliteration
19
Theepistemologyandthemetaphysicsofspace
Caveatsandqualifications 21
24
Planofchapters
2 Pluribusergoexistentibuscentris:explanations,
descriptions,andCopernicus 27
27
Whyanewastronomy?
29
Theproblemsofastronomy
32
Eudoxus,Aristotle,andPtolemy
37
ThePtolemaiccompromise
42
TheAverroistchallenge:whereisthecenter?
Copernicus’ssolution:anewcenter 47
55
Averroismredux
Theexplanatoryconsequencesofdescriptions:
60
thethirdmotion
Conclusion:CopernicusandtheScientificRevolution 62
3 Nonestmotusomnino:Gilbert,verticity,and
theLawoftheWhole 64
Gilbert’sresponsetoCopernicus 64
66
DeMagnete,BookI
vii
viii Contents
69
DeMagnete,BookII
72
Instantiationsofthegeographicalrepresentationofspace
DeMagnete,BooksIII–V:magneticmotions 73
DeMagnete,BookVI:theearth’smotions 76
79
Diurnalrotation:ablindalley
81
Thethirdmotion:verticityandtheLawoftheWhole
86
Conclusion
4 Respiceresinus:Kepler,orientedspace,andtheellipse 88
88
Introduction
90
Twodesiderata:descriptionsandexplanations
Theexplanatoryproblem:“respectingthesines” 94
98
Anexplanatorymechanism:themagneticbalance
103
Orientedspace
106
Conclusion:theneedforrectilinearity
5 Millemovimenticircolari:fromimpetustoconserved
curvilinearmotioninGalileo 110
110
Theoriginsofinertialphysics
Galileo’santecedents 113
116
DeMotu
120
Neutralmotion
123
Dialogo
130
Conservedmotion
138
Discorsi
145
Conclusion
6 Directionssontentreellesparalleles:Descartesandhiscritics
onorientedspaceandtheparallelogramrule 147
147
Inertiaandthecompositionofmotion
Descartes’strajectory 150
Descartes’sOptics 153
160
Descartesonorientedspace:physicalconsiderations
163
Descartesonorientedspace:metaphysicalconsiderations
168
Descartesdis-oriented
Fermat’sorientationoftheOptics 174
183
Conclusion
7 Inclineittoverge:Newton’sspatialsynthesis 188
188
Introduction
Hooke’squery 189
Newton’searlythoughtsonorbits 191
Newton’s“grossblunder” 196
202
Applicationoftheparallelogramrule