How Radical was Copernicus?Many people think of Copernicus as a fundamental scientist who blow out of the water the world by claiming that the sun was the warmheartedness of the humans. Although Copernicus spurned some of the traditional beliefs of Aristotelean insepar able-bodied philosophical establishment and Ptolemaic astronomy, he was still strongly grow in these schools of theory and they were extremely all-important(prenominal) to his lam. Copernicus jilted veritable ideas of Ptolemaic astronomy in order to strengthen and better the primeval principles, non to revolutionize them. Copernicus assay to continue, preserve, and build upon the mere work of Ptolemy, non take down in the mouth it. Copernicus was in some ways to a greater fulfilment than radical than umpteen members of the academia, besides he was non ace of the true radicals of the scientific Renaissance. Just like tot built-inlyy scholars of his clip, Copernicus was taught and study the classics. The classics were mainly collections of the superannuated writings of Greek philosophers, including Aristotle, who was one of the primordial classical judgments and philosophers of the clipping. Aristotle and his following developd a way of thinking and analyze based on observation, which was known as ingrained ism. This natural philosophy was not based on experimentation, and was to a greater extent match with the ?why? and not the ?how? of things. That is to say that Aristotle was to a greater extent interested that all of the planets rotated well-nigh hide because earth was the come to of the universe, and did not care so much astir(predicate) the mechanisms which make the planets rotate. unrivalled way in which Copernicus can be viewed as radical compared to the natural philosophers of the time was in his way of sledding nigh his studies. Aristotelian natural philosophers based their beliefs on observations and their cognition of reciprocal truths . One of the common truths was that the eart! h was the center of the universe and everything orbited around the earth with consistent account doubt (Dear, Revolutionizing the Sciences, 19). Since umpteen astronomers of the time used this form of study, no one thought to variety show the belief in geocentricism or kindred circular operation. However, Copernicus rejected this way of thinking and started to use a system more similar to our modern system of the scientific method. Copernicus states, ?This certainly would neer have happened to them if they had followed fixed principles; for if the hypotheses they assumed were not false, all that resulted in that respect from would be verified beyond doubt? (Matthews, Scientific Background, 42). This clearly shows that Copernicus did not believe in the Aristotelian form of natural philosophy and that he attempted to create a planetary toughie based on truth, not antiquated beliefs. An otherwisewise influential classical brain was Ptolemy. Copernicus and all astronomers b efore him based their systems on Ptolemy?s astronomy. Ptolemy laid down several sacred laws of astronomy consisting of uniform circular motion, uniform speed, and geocentricism. The most radical of Copernicus? theories was that of a heliocentric planetary system, and not a geocentric system. This was viewed as a radical rejection of Ptolemaic thought because the geocentric system was one of the most important and basal beliefs held by astronomers of the time. However, in Copernicus? mind this was not a rejection of Ptolemy, simply rather a way of preserving and building upon Ptolemy (Dear 35). By eliminating the geocentric system Copernicus was able to preserve Ptolemy?s other laws of uniform circular motion and uniform speed. Copernicus believed that uniform circular motion was one of the basic laws of astronomy, and by moving the center of the universe to the sun he was able to increase the mogul of predicting planetary motion (Dear 36). The authorized use of equants by other astronomers was already a stones pass on away! from Ptolemy?s geocentric system and, although Copernicus? heliocentric hypothesis eliminated the use of equants, it was not really that radical to move on from equants to a heliocentric system. Copernicus? intention was to increase the accuracy of Ptolemy?s vex and to make better it, not to remake it (Dear 34).
Copernicus was not the solo thinker who went against the set up Aristotelian thought and challenged or rejected the work of predecessors; he was part of a large Scientific Renaissance. Others such as Vesalius or Viète continue the work of ancient writers and built upon them as Copernicus did with Ptolemy (Dear 37-41), and Copernicus and other thinkers viewed his model as an ? false of Ptolemy? not a rejection (Dear 35), thus cover that Copernicus was not unfeignedly radically different. Furthermore, the writings of Kepler and Galileo were far more radical than those of Copernicus. Kepler went so far as to completely throw out the entire idea of uniform circular motion and uniform speed, which Copernicus would never have dreamed of doing, due to the point that Copernicus was attempting to preserve and remedy those laws (Koestler, The Watershed: A life history of Johannes Kepler, 122). In many another(prenominal) ways Copernicus? ideas were reasonably tame, and therefore less radical, compared to those of Kepler and Galileo. storey remembers Copernicus as a radical who rejected many of the beliefs of his time and shocked the world by claiming that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe. Although Copernicus was more revolutionary than many members of the academia and rejected Aristotelian natural philosophy, he was not ! as radical as taradiddle remembers him. Copernicus attempted to improve the classical work of Ptolemy, not to destroy it. Also, as part of the larger Scientific Renaissance, Copernicus was not just about as radical as other scientists such as Kepler or Galileo. Therefore, Copernicus should not be remembered as a radical, but rather as he was: a scientific thinker who continued, preserved, and built upon the work of the greats who came before him. BibliographyArthur Koestler, The Watershed: A life history of Johannes Kepler (1960), 122-159Copernicus, excerpts from Commentariolus (1512) and preface of On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543)(Matthews, Scientific Background, 36-44)Dear, Peter. Revolutionizing the Sciences. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. If you want to shit about a full essay, order it on our website:
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