Philosophy 44 Flashcards
What did Kepler set out to discover? With whose help?
With the help of Copernican theory, he set out to discover the simple mathematical laws that would solve the problem of the planets
What kind of revolutionary was Copernicus?
A revolutionary who had maintained many traditional assumptions that worked against the immediate success of his hypothesis
What was the new status of mathematics?
Mathematics was now an intrinsic element of astronomical reality
What is the consequence of sun spots coming and going
Planetary bodies were not the prefect, incorruptible, and immutable celestial objects of Aristotelian-Ptolemaic cosmology
What was the significance of Galileo’s telescope?
The heliocentric theory could no longer be considered merely a computational convenience
What drastically undercut the Church’s status among intellectuals?
The Church’s commitment to a stationary earth
What was the ultimate cultural meaning of Galileo’s conflict?
Church vs. science, religion vs. science
