This thesis addresses the role of geography in the Scientific Revolution, a matter yet to be settled by historians of science. Specifically it argues that cosmography, the parent discipline of both astronomy and geography, was central to Copernican natural philosophy in the early modern period. Copernicus, Bruno, Gilbert, Galileo and Descartes all sought to provide a unified picture of the heavens and earth by harmonising ideas in geography and astronomy, according to established principles of cosmography. In addition, using concepts about the earth?s form to build heliocentric cosmological theories was routine amongst Copernican thinkers. Indeed, this analysis demonstrates that Copernicus, Bruno and Gilbert staked their claims about the heavens on their theories of the earth. Recognising cosmography offers several advantages to historical understanding of the Scientific Revolution. It helps explain the form of Bruno?s argument for an infinite cosmos and a multiplicity of worlds. It provides insights into Gilbert?s interest in the detailed structure of the earth, beyond simply magnetism, and reveals that his argument followed a more traditional path than generally thought. A cosmographic perspective explains why Galileo took such pride in his theory of the tides and clarifies the place of this theory in his case for heliocentrism. From the cosmographic viewpoint, Descartes appears as a radically ambitious cosmographer with his use of a single account of the creation of the heavens and earth, thereby linking geography and astronomy in a single physical theory. Thus, cosmography represented a competitive enterprise among the Copernican natural philosophers. In general, thinking in terms of cosmography helps us understand the manner in which geographical ideas entered into the conceptual developments of the Scientific Revolution. The main contribution to knowledge in this thesis is its identification of cosmography as a key frame of reference for early modern thinking about cosmology, overlooked in the historical literature.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/241441 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Biro, Jackie, School of History & Philosophy of Science, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of History and Philosophy of Science |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Jackie Biro, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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