Copernicus and the Aristotelian Tradition

André Goddu, Ph.D. (1979) in History, University of California at Los Angeles, is Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stonehill College. He has published a monograph and several articles on late medieval philosophy and early modern astronomy, including The Physics of William of Ockham (Brill, 1984).

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction



PART I: COPERNICUS'S EDUCATION IN POLAND

1. Poland, Toruń, and Cracow in the Fifteenth Century

1. Early Education

2. Cracow University

3. Curriculum and Texts, 1475-1500



2. Masters and Students in the 1490s



3. The Teaching of Logic

1. Aristotelian Logic

2. Introductory Orientation

3. The Teaching of Logic at Cracow



4. Natural Philosophy

1. General Orientation

2. Markowski's Most Important and Relevant Conclusions—

3. Quaestiones cracovienses and John of Glogovia on the Physics of Aristotle

4. Aristotle's De caelo, De generatione, Meteorologica, and Metaphysics

5. Johannes Versoris

6. Albert of Saxony and John of Glogovia



5. Humanism and Astronomy

1. Introduction

2. The Curriculum at Cracow

3. The Criticisms of Ptolemaic Astronomy

4. Copernicus's Teachers at Cracow

5. Albert of Brudzewo’s Commentariolum



PART II: COPERNICUS’S EDUCATION IN ITALY, 1496-1503, AND RETURN TO POLAND

6. Copernicus in Italy

1. Introduction

2. Education in Canon and Civil Law

3. Novara

4. Study of Greek

5. Rome

6. Study of Medicine at Padua

7. Degree from Ferrara.



7. Copernicus’s Reading and Progress towards his First Heliocentric Theory

1. Introduction

2. Regiomontanus

3. Bessarion

4. Ficino's Translation of Plato's Works

5. Plutarch, Pseudo-Plutarch, and Giorgio Valla

6. Pliny the Elder and other Ancient Authorities

7. Achillini

8. Commentariolus and the Transfer to Frombork



PART III: COPERNICUS AS PHILOSOPHER

8. Copernicus as Logician

1. Introduction

2. The Sources of Dialectical Topics, 1490-1550

3. Mereology—Logic and Ontology

4. Logic in the Commentariolus

5. The Use of Topics in the Preface to De revolutionibus

6. The Rhetorical Framework of Book I

7. The Use of Topics in Book I

8. Hypotheses in Copernicus's Method

9. The Logical Issues in the Relation between Mathematics and Natural Philosophy

10. The Logical Issues in his Discovery of the Heliocentric Theory

11. Concluding Remarks on Copernicus's Relation to the Aristotelian Logical Tradition



9. Copernicus as Natural Philosopher

1. Introduction

2. Critique of Geocentrism

3. Motions of Celestial Bodies

4. Impetus and the Motions of Elemental Bodies

5. Infinity and the Finiteness of the Cosmos

6. Summary



10. Copernicus as Mathematical Cosmologist

1. Introduction

2. Hypotheses

3. Spheres and the Nature of Celestial Matter

4. Equants

5. Summary



Conclusion and Epilog

1. Summary

2. Copernicus's Interpretation of Aristotle

3. Epilog: Reception of Copernicus's Interpretation



Appendices

Bibliography

Index