Representing Space in the Scientific Revolution - Softcover

Miller, David Marshall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107624711 ISBN 13: 9781107624719

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2016

Synopsis

The novel understanding of the physical world that characterized the Scientific Revolution depended on a fundamental shift in the way its protagonists understood and described space. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, spatial phenomena were described in relation to a presupposed central point; by its end, space had become a centerless void in which phenomena could only be described by reference to arbitrary orientations. David Marshall Miller examines both the historical and philosophical aspects of this far-reaching development, including the rejection of the idea of heavenly spheres, the advent of rectilinear inertia, and the theoretical contributions of Copernicus, Gilbert, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, and Newton. His rich study shows clearly how the centered Aristotelian cosmos became the oriented Newtonian universe, and will be of great interest to students and scholars of the history and philosophy of science.

About this title

About the Author

David Marshall Miller is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University. He has published articles in journals including Philosophy of Science and History of Science.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1107624711
• ISBN 13: 9781107624719
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 250