Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (2017)
Ragep, F. Jamil (Editor)
Feldhay, Rivka (Editor)
McGill-Queen's University Press
Publication date: 2017
Language: English
Physical Details: 368 pp.
In 1984, Noel Swerdlow and Otto Neugebauer argued that Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) explained planetary motion by using mathematical devices and astronomical models originally developed by Islamic astronomers in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Was this a parallel development, or did Copernicus somehow learn of the work of his predecessors, and if so, how? And if Copernicus did use material from the Islamic world, how then should we understand the European context of his innovative cosmology? Although Copernicus’s work has been subject to a number of excellent studies, there has been little attention paid to the sources and diverse cultures that might have inspired him. Foregrounding the importance of interactions between Islamic and European astronomers and philosophers, Before Copernicus explores the multi-cultural, multi-religious, and multi-lingual context of learning on the eve of the Copernican revolution, determining the relationship between Copernicus and his predecessors. Essays by Christopher Celenza and Nancy Bisaha delve into the European cultural and intellectual contexts of the fifteenth century, revealing both the profound differences between “them” and “us,” and the nascent attitudes that would mark the turn to modernity. Michael Shank, F. Jamil Ragep, Sally Ragep, and Robert Morrison depict the vibrant and creative work of astronomers in the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish worlds. In other essays, Rivka Feldhay, Raz Chen-Morris, and Edith Sylla demonstrate the importance of shifting outlooks that were critical for the emergence of a new worldview. Highlighting the often-neglected intercultural exchange between Islam and early modern Europe, Before Copernicus reimagines the scientific revolution in a global context.
...MoreReview Matjaž Vesel (2018) Review of "Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century". Aestimatio: Critical Reviews in the History of Science (pp. 37-79).
Review Dag Nikolaus Hasse (2019) Review of "Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century". Journal for the History of Astronomy (pp. 485-487).
Review Sonja Draxler (2018) Review of "Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 386-387).
Chapter Michael H. Shank (2017) Regiomontanus and Astronomical Controversy in the Background of Copernicus. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 79-109).
Chapter Raz Chen-Morris; Rivka Feldhay (2017) Framing the Appearances in the Fifteenth Century: Alberti, Cusa, Regiomontanus, and Copernicus. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 110-141).
Chapter Nancy Bisaha (2017) European Cross-Cultural Contexts before Copernicus. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 29-43).
Chapter Edith Dudley Sylla (2017) The Status of Astronomy as a Science in Fifteenth-Century Cracow: Ibn al-Haytham, Peurbach, and Copernicus. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 45-78).
Chapter F. Jamil Ragep (2017) From Tūn to Toruń: The Twists and Turns of the Ṭūsī-Couple. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 161-197).
Chapter Robert Morrison (2017) Jews as Scientific Intermediaries in the European Renaissance. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 198-214).
Chapter Christopher S. Celenza (2017) What Did It Mean to Live in the Long Fifteenth Century?. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 17-28).
Chapter Sally P. Ragep (2017) Fifteenth-Century Astronomy in the Islamic World. In: Before Copernicus: The Cultures and Contexts of Scientific Learning in the Fifteenth Century (pp. 143-160).
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