Medieval Cosmology
Theories of Infinity, Place, Time, Void, and the Plurality of Worlds
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Medieval Cosmology
Theories of Infinity, Place, Time, Void, and the Plurality of Worlds
These selections from Le système du monde, the classic ten-volume history of the physical sciences written by the great French physicist Pierre Duhem (1861-1916), focus on cosmology, Duhem’s greatest interest. By reconsidering the work of such Arab and Christian scholars as Averroes, Avicenna, Gregory of Rimini, Albert of Saxony, Nicole Oresme, Duns Scotus, and William of Occam, Duhem demonstrated the sophistication of medieval science and cosmology.
Table of Contents
Foreword, by Stanley L. Jaki
Preface
Part I. The Two Infinities
1. Infinitely Small and Infinitely Large (VII, 3-88)
2. Infinitely Large (VII, 89-157)
3. Infinity in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part II. Place
4. Theory of Place before the Condemnations of 1277 (VII, 158-202)
5. Theory of Place from the Condemnations of 1277 to the End of the Fourteenth Century (VII, 202-302)
6. Place in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part III. Time
7. Time (VII, 363-441)
8. Time in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part IV. Void
9. Void and Movement in the Void (VIII, 7-60)
10. Void in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part V. The Plurality of Worlds
11. The Problem of the Plurality of Worlds in Peripatetic Philosophy (I, 230-41)
12. The Problem of the Plurality of Worlds in Scholastic Philosophy (IX, 363-430)
13. The Plurality of Worlds in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Notes
Bibliography of Works Cited by Duhem (with References to Modern Editions and English Translations)
Selected Duhem Bibliography: Historical and Philosophical Works
Selected Bibliography of Works on Medieval Physical Sciences after Duhem
Index
Preface
Part I. The Two Infinities
1. Infinitely Small and Infinitely Large (VII, 3-88)
2. Infinitely Large (VII, 89-157)
3. Infinity in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part II. Place
4. Theory of Place before the Condemnations of 1277 (VII, 158-202)
5. Theory of Place from the Condemnations of 1277 to the End of the Fourteenth Century (VII, 202-302)
6. Place in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part III. Time
7. Time (VII, 363-441)
8. Time in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part IV. Void
9. Void and Movement in the Void (VIII, 7-60)
10. Void in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Part V. The Plurality of Worlds
11. The Problem of the Plurality of Worlds in Peripatetic Philosophy (I, 230-41)
12. The Problem of the Plurality of Worlds in Scholastic Philosophy (IX, 363-430)
13. The Plurality of Worlds in Fifteenth-Century Cosmology
Notes
Bibliography of Works Cited by Duhem (with References to Modern Editions and English Translations)
Selected Duhem Bibliography: Historical and Philosophical Works
Selected Bibliography of Works on Medieval Physical Sciences after Duhem
Index