Animism in Early Modern Astronomy: Johannes Kepler's Vitalistic View of the Heavens

早期现代天文学中的万物有灵论：约翰内斯·开普勒的天空活力观

• 批准号: 1027345
• 负责人: Patrick Boner
• 金额: $ 8.95万
• 依托单位: Boner Patrick J
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-15 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1027345&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Animism; Early; Modern; Astronomy; Johannes

IntroductionThis project will examine the role of vitalistic (life-force) principles in Kepler's astronomy. Though often considered an early forerunner of the mechanical world view in light the celestial physics presented in his New Astronomy (1609), which offers only a limited view of his system of astronomical causes. By contrast, his study of the supernova of 1604, On the New Star (1606), Kepler compares the origins of comets and 'new stars' to the products of a cyclical process of decay and renewal occurring in the body of an animal. Kepler's application of anatomical knowledge to the ethereal body of the heavens suggests a broader understanding of his celestial physics, one that makes better sense of the dynamic course of the cosmos as a whole. Begun after the bulk of the New Astronomy was already complete, On the New Star was a counterpart, rather than a 'less modern' qualification, of Kepler's pioneering conception of planetary forces.Intellectual MeritThis project will shed new light on the relation of Kepler's two texts, elucidating the inseparable links between his ideas of agency in astronomy and other areas of interest, especially astrology and music. By comparing Kepler's ideas with those of his intellectual contemporaries, this project will also deepen and diversify our understanding of early modern physics more generally, challenging us to bridge gaps between ideas of agency and cause in the fields of mathematics, medicine, and natural philosophy.Potential Broader ImpactsThe results of this research will ultimately lead to two primary products: (1) a monograph study of Kepler's vitalistic views over the course of his career, and (2) the first-ever English translation, with an introduction and notes, of Kepler's On the New Star. In each of these efforts, the PI will work towards breaking down the modern dichotomy of vitalistic and mechanistic principles and restoring their close and complex links in the context of early modern science. This will be done in large part by building on the recent studies of seventeenth-century anatomy and medicine and drawing attention to their relevance for Kepler's astronomy and other 'less modern' areas of interest. While the monograph study will appeal to a wide variety of historians and philosophers of science, the translation of Kepler's On the New Star will attract an even wider audience of scholars, students, and scientific enthusiasts more generally.

介绍本项目将研究开普勒天文学中的活力（生命力）原则的作用。虽然经常被认为是机械世界观的早期先驱，但在他的《新天文学》（1609年）中提出的天体物理学，只提供了他的天文原因系统的有限观点。相比之下，他对1604年超新星的研究，在新的星星（1606），开普勒比较彗星和“新的恒星”的起源，以产品的周期性过程中发生的衰变和更新的一个动物的身体。开普勒将解剖学知识应用于天体，这表明人们对他的天体物理学有了更广泛的理解，更好地理解了整个宇宙的动态过程。开始后，大部分的新天文学已经完成，在新的星星是一个对应的，而不是一个'不太现代'的资格，开普勒的开拓性概念的行星力量。智力MeritThis项目将揭示新的光的关系开普勒的两个文本，阐明了不可分割的联系，他的想法之间的机构在天文学和其他领域的利益，特别是占星术和音乐。通过将开普勒的思想与他同时代的知识分子的思想进行比较，该项目还将加深和多样化我们对早期现代物理学的理解，更普遍地挑战我们弥合数学，医学和自然哲学领域的代理和原因之间的思想差距。潜在的更广泛的影响这项研究的结果最终将导致两个主要产品：（1）专题研究开普勒的活力的意见，在他的职业生涯的过程中，和（2）有史以来第一次英文翻译，介绍和说明，开普勒的新星星。在每一项努力中，PI将致力于打破活力主义和机械主义原则的现代二分法，并在早期现代科学的背景下恢复它们之间密切而复杂的联系。这将在很大程度上是通过建立在最近的研究17世纪的解剖学和医学，并提请注意他们的相关性开普勒的天文学和其他“不太现代”的兴趣领域。虽然专题研究将吸引各种各样的历史学家和科学哲学家，开普勒的《新星星》的翻译将吸引更广泛的学者、学生和科学爱好者。