Theories of the World from Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution

By Michael J. Crowe,

Book cover of Theories of the World from Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution

Book description

This newly revised edition of Professor Crowe's accessible and enlightening book recreates one of the most dramatic developments in the history of thought: the change from an earth-centered to a sun-centered conception of the solar system. Written in a clear and straightforward manner, the work is organized around a hypothetical…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Theories of the World from Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I find this book valuable for its humanized approach to the history of science and its emphasis on the human response to major conceptual developments.

The book is rich with instructive and inviting treatments of major developments within the astronomical traditions in particular, from critical episodes within Greek, Babylonian, medieval, and early modern traditions, to decisive moments leading to what it termed the "Copernican Revolution."

Despite a limited coverage of pre-Copernican developments, the book’s stories around humans adopting and abandoning scientific concepts and models have wider impacts than any specific case, on our understanding of how knowledge develops and transforms. 

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