Copernicus and the Aristotelian Tradition

Stonehill College, North Easton MA

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT: SES 00-04206 Andre Goddu Copernicus and the Aristotelian Tradition The Copernican theory rejected and reformed the geocentric view of the universe. The main philosophical support for geocentricism derived from Aristotle supported by over a thousand years of commentary. Copernicus was educated in the fundamentals of Aristotelian philosophy at the University of Cracow between 1491 and 1495. Late medieval Aristotelianism encountered by Copernicus had departed from Aristotle on a number of issues for a variety of reasons. Consequently, the late medieval Aristotelianism Copernicus encountered in Cracow was eclectic and flexible. Although Copernicus recognized his departure from the tradition, the arguments that he presented in his major work were dependent on late medieval commentaries. Copernicus offered no new physics to account for the motions of the earth. Copernicus hoped to persuade Aristotelians to open their minds to consider adapting Aristotelian principles to the heliocentric system. The PI proposes to examine relevant documents in Poland and in Uppsala Sweden related to the university education of Copernicus. The PI also will gain access to laregely unrecognized Polish scholarship on these issues, and begin to build bridges between Polish historians of science and those in the West. The PI is seeking to document how Copernicus' education helped him frame arguments in the Aristotelian tradition. This research is part of a larger project by the PI that aims toward a revisionist account of Aristotelian reactions, Copernican defenses, and the scientific revolution.