The Copernican Question: Prognostication, Skepticism, and Celestial Order

by Robert S. Westman

Book Overview

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus publicly defended his hypothesis that the earth is a planet and the sun a body resting near the center of a finite universe. But why did Copernicus make this bold proposal? And why did it matter? The Copernican Question reframes this pivotal moment in the history of science, centering the story on a conflict over the credibility of astrology that erupted in Italy just as Copernicus arrived in 1496. Copernicus engendered...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520355695
• ISBN13: 9780520355699
• Release Date: April 2020
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 702 Pages
• Weight: 2.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.9" x 10.0"