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I. INTRODUCTION
Osiris,2001, 16:00-00 88
Hibner,Die
see: Jtrgen
On themorespecificquestionoftheroleofreligionin Kepler'sthought,
Theologie JohannesKeplers zwischen Orthodoxieund Naturwissenschaft(Tiibingen: Mohr, 1975);
"The Rise andDeclineof Orthodox
andRichardS. Westfall, A StudyofKepler,Des-
Christianity:
cartes and Newton," in God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter between Christianity
and Science,ed. David C. LindbergandRonaldL. Numbers(Berkeleyand Los Angeles:Univ.of
CaliforniaPress,1986),pp. 218-55. In contrast, RobertS. Westman,"The Copernicansand the
Churches," theviewdefendedin detailin the
in ibid.,pp. 76-113. especiallypp. 96-8, anticipates
presentessay.
studyoftheseissueshasbenefited
2 Historical fromtheappearanceofseveralrecentbooks,includ-
ing G6rardSimon,Kepler astronomeastrologue(Paris: Gallimard,1979); Bruce Stephenson,
Keplers Physical Astronomy(1987; Princeton:PrincetonUniv. Press, 1994), and The Music of the
Heavens.KeplersHarmonicAstronomy (Princeton: Univ.Press,1994). On thereligious
Princeton
background see especiallySachikoKusukawa,The Transformation
to Kepler'sthought, ofNatural
Philosophy: The Case of Philip Melanchthon(Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1995); Charlotte
Methuen, Kepler's Tuibingen:Stimulus to a Theological Mathematics (Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate,
1998); and thenew editionof Max Caspar,Kepler(New York:Dover,1993),withnew scholarly
apparatusby 0. Gingerich and A. Segonds.See also PeterBarker,"The Role of Religionin the
Lutheran Response to Copernicus," in Rethinkingthe ScientificRevolution,ed. Margaret J. Osler
in
(Cambridge:CambridgeUniv.Press,2000). pp. 59-88, and Barker,"Kepler'sEpistemology,"
Method and Order in Renaissance Natural Philosophy,ed. C. Methuen,D. Di Liscia, and E. Kessler
disser-
toare:Prodromus
(NewYork:Kluwer,1997).pp. 355-68.ThemainworksofKeplerreferred
tationein cosmographicarumn,continens mvsteriumcosmographicum (Ttibingen: Gruppenbach,
1596), now usually referredto as MysteriumCosmographicum; and Astronomia nova AITIO-
to in ourtextas The
AOFHTO2, sevphysicacoelestis(Heidelberg:G. Voegelinus,1609),referred
NewAstrononn'.The standard to whichwe referareA. M. Duncan,Johannes
translations Kepler-
MysteriumCosmographicum:The Secret of the Universe(Norwalk, Conn.: Abaris, 1981); and Wil-
liamH. Donahue,JohannesKepler NewvAstronomy (Cambridge:CambridgeUniv.Press,1992).
3Peter Barker,"Copernicusand theCriticsof Ptolemy," J. Hist.Astron.30 (1999):343-58,and
"Copernicus, the Orbs and the Equant" in Pierre Duhemn:Historian and Philosopher of Science, ed.
83 (1990):317-23.
in Synthese
R. AriewandP. Barker,
AlthoughTychoBrahe'ssystemattractedmanypreviousadherentsof Ptolemaicas-
tronomy, requiredconsiderablechangein theontologyof theheav-
its introduction
ens-a change thatcaused theauthorof thesystemsome difficulty. Using theCo-
pernicandistancesof planetsfromthe sun, when Mars was closest to the earthit
was considerablynearerthanthedistancefromtheearthto thesun.Tychoassumed
thatthesun movedaroundtheearth,whileMars and theotherplanetsmovedaround
thesun. If thesemotionswererepresented by systemsof orbs,like theorbs used in
a theorica,thentheorbs forMars and thesun intersectedand interpenetrated. This
was a physicalimpossibilityon theconventionalunderstanding of the substanceof
theheavens.In the mid-1580s Tychoabandonedthe conventionalaccount,withits
systemof orbscarryingtheplanets.Tychoconcludedthatthesubstanceof theheav-
ens was a continuousfluidof some sort,thattheplanetsmovedfreelythroughthis
medium,and thattheorbs of theplanetswere notphysicalobjects but geometrical
constructions representingboundariesin thismedium.Observationsof two comets
playeda special role in Tycho'sadoptionof thenew position.
Brightcometsappearedin 1577 and 1585. Because of renewedinterestin comets
earlierin thesixteenth century,thecometof 1577,in particular, was studiedby many
people. Two observers,
Tycho Brahe in Denmark and Michael Maestlin(1550-163 1)
in Germany,used new techniquesto trackthedistanceof thecometfromtheearth
on a dailybasis overa periodof months.Both concludedthatthecometmovedin a
way whichcarriedit througha seriesof thegeocentricorbspostulatedbyAristotle
and Ptolemy?but thatthe motionof the comet was quite consistentwithits being
carriedin an orb centeredon thesun and slightlylargerthantheorb of Venus. For
Tychothismotionwas ultimately fittedintohis new cosmic scheme,withthecomet
joiningtheplanetsin theirsun-centered motions,whilethesun itselfmovedaround
the earth.Maestlintook the moreradical step of adoptingthe Copernicansystem,
althoughhe clearlycontinuedto interpret theontologyof theheavensin themanner
familiarfromtheoricaand regardedtheplanets,thecomet,and theearthas all being
carriedbyorbscenteredon thesun.Maestlinsaw additionalevidenceforhis conclu-
sions in themotionsof a cometthatappearedin 1580.'4
For some yearsafter1577 Tychoalso continuedto believe thattheplanetswere
carriedby orbs. In the nextdecade, while developinghis new cosmic scheme,he
puzzled overtheintersection of theorbs forMars and the sun. When a new comet
appeared in 1585, it was again subject to intenseobservation.Shortlyafterward,
V. KEPLER'S EDUCATION
21
Caspar, Kepler (cit. n. 1), pp. 48-50, 213, and 258-64; Hubner,TheologieJohannesKeplers (cit.
n. 1),pp. 45-59 and 108-11;Methuen, KeplersTibingen(cit.n. 2), pp. 44-6.
22
See Methuen, Kepler'sTibingen(cit.n. 2), pp. 183ff.
23 [on thematerials
"I am concentrating whichformthebasisfortheMysterium] so thatthismay
be madepublicas quicklyas possible,to thegloryof God, who wishesto be known[agnoscere]
throughtheBook of Nature,"Kepler to Maestlin, 3 Oct. 1595, JohannesKepler GesammelteWerke,
KGW). On earlymodem
ed. M. Caspar(Munich:Beck, 1937-).vol. 13,p. 40, lines2-3 (henceforth
readings of the book of nature,see JamesJ. Bono, The Wordof God and the Languages of Man:
InterpretingNature in Early Modern Science and Medicine (Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press,
1995).
24 Methuen, Cosmographicum,
Kepler'sTibingen (cit.n. 2), p. 137,n. 82; see Kepler,Mysterium
chap. 14; Duncan,SecretoftheUniverse, p. 156 (lastparagraph)(bothcit.n. 2).
25
Methuen, (cit.n. 2), pp. 136ff.
Kepler'sTiibingen
26
On thechangingstatusof Melanchthon andhisideas at thetimeof BraheandKepler,see Jole
Shackelford, "Rosicrucianism,LutheranOrthodoxy in Early
and theRejectionof Paracelsianism
Seventeenth CenturyDenmark," Bull.Hist.Med.70 (1996):181-204.
sed ex necessitate
27 "Ex quo nonprobabiliter, evincitur,Cometam... in summoaetherelocum
sibi quaesivisse." Maestlin, Consideratio et observatio cometae aetherei astronomica, qui anno
MDLXXX. . . apparent (cit. n. 14). QuotedinMethuen, Kepler's Tiibingen(cit.n. 2), p. 179andn. 61.
to demonstrate
I propose,reader, inthislittlebookthatthemostGood andGreatCre-
ator,inthecreationofthismovingworld,andthearrangement referred
oftheheavens,
to thosefiveregularsolids,well knownfromPythagoras andPlatoto ourowntime,
thenumber
andthatto theirnaturehe fitted andthe
of theheavens,theirproportions,
plan(ratio)oftheirmotions."335
suchis
itpleases[me]tocryout:Certainly
AndnowatlastwiththedivineCopernicus
oftheGoodandGreat[God];andwithPliny:Theimmense
thedivinehandiwork world
is sacred.45
De
41 See, e.g.. Kepler, Quantitatibus, (cit.n. 2), p. 360.
citedin Barker,"Kepler'sEpistemology"
p. 27; cf. Duncan, Secretofthe Universe(cit. n. 2), p. 106.
44Kepler,MysteriumCosmnographicum,
Mysterium
45 Kepler. Cosmographicum, p. 82; cf.Duncan,SecretoftheUniverse(cit.n. 2), p. 223.
The passageends,"andwithPliny:The immenseworldis sacred,thewholeconsidered as a whole,
yeaverilyitselfthewhole,finiteandresembling The sacredwholeinvokedbyPlinyis,
theinfinite."
orcourse,theStoiccosmos.
46 Kepleradmitted thatthe"fit"betweenhis theory of theregularsolidsandthedatais notexact
butnoted"howgreatly unequalthenumbers wouldhavebeen,ifthisundertaking hadbeencontrary
to Nature,thatis, ifGod himselfat theCreationhad notlookedto theseproportions" (Mysterium
Cosmographicum,p. 50; Duncan, Secretof the Universe[cit. n. 2], p. 157). But Kepler believed that
discrepancies.
theremaining
in hisHarmoniceMundi(1619) he hadeliminated
Andthethreemostimportantthings,
ofwhichI persistently soughtthecauseswhythey
wereso andnototherwise,
werethenumber, sizeandmotionoftheorbs.Thatbeautiful
commensurability
(harmonia)ofstaticobjects:thesun,thefixedstars,andtheinterven-
ingmedium[on theone hand]withGod theFather, theSon,andtheHolySpirit[on
theother],
mademedarethis.47
Mysterium
17 Kepler, 1596,p. 6: cf.Duncan,SecretoftheUniverse(cit.n. 2).
Cosmographicum,
p. 62.
In Greekthetermcorresponding is paradeigma,and
to "example"in thistranslation
it is usuallytranslatedintoLatin as exemplum.49
In Aristotleexemplummaybe merelya mode of inference;forMelanchthonand
Kepleritis also an indicationof theexistenceof a universalruleor law and,as such,
partof God's providentialplan. In his ErotemataDialectices (originallypublished
in 1547, frequently revisedand reprinted)MelanchthonrepeatsAristotle'sdivision
of inferencesintosyllogisms,inductions,and exemplaand goes on to say,"Exempla
are thereforeremindersabout some universalrule or law, which connectssimilar
things."50The examplesgivento illustrate thistypeof inferenceinvolvemoralprohi-
bitions:
Thelicentious
behaviorofhumansbeforetheFloodwaspunished; licentious
therefore,
todaywillbe punished.
behavior
Or,recastingtheexemplumas a syllogism:
is punished
behavior
All licentious byGod;therefore, todaywillbe
behavior
licentious
punished byGod.
48 Aristotle,PriorAnalytics, A. J.Jenkinson
trans. (Oxford:Clarendon, 1928),11.24,68b38-69b19.
Organonseu libriad Dialecticamattinentes...,
9 E.g., see Aristoteles trans.F. Caesius(Venice:
ApudHieronymum Scotum,1552),fols.103r-103v.In additiontotheuse ofthetermexemplum by
Melanchthon andKepler(see thefollowing paragraphs),thispatternofargument is widelydiscussed
in sixteenth-andearlyseventeenth-century textson logicanddialectics.TwoexamplesareEustach-
iusa SanctoPaulo,Summaphilosophiaquadripartita (Coloniae:Zetzner, 1629),pt.1 (Logic),p. 168,
who treatsit as a fallacy;and Theophraste Bouju, Corpsde toutela philosophiedeviseen deux
parties(Paris:M. Orry,1614),p. 73, whoacceptsitas a nonfallacious pattern ofargument.
50 Erotemata Dialectices,CR, vol. 13,cols. 621-24,col. 622: "Suntigiturexemplacommonefacti-
ones [i.e.,reminders] de aliquauniversaliregulaseu lege,quae complectitur similia"
51 Ibid.,col. 622.
Here theexemplumargumentis:
Saturn, Mars,andVenusmovemoreslowlythanthepowerthatconveysthem
Jupiter,
(thesolarvirtue);therefore willmovemoreslowlythanthepowerthatcon-
Mercury
veysit.
52 Kepler, Astronomia Nova (cit.n. 2), pp. 174-5: "[E]tsic consquenter, usquead MERCURIAM,
qui proculdubioad exemplum superiorum, etiamipsetardior quae ipsumvehit.[p. 175]
erit,virtute
Docet hincanalogiastatuere, omnibusPLANETIS, ipse etiamMERCURIO humilimo, inessevim
materialam ex orbevirtutis
sese explicandinonnihil SOLARIS." Cf.Donahue,NewAstronomy (cit.
n. 2), p. 388.
53 On Melanchthon's conceptofnatural lawandprovidence, see Kusukawa,Transformation ofNat-
uralPhilosophy(cit.n. 2), pp. 124-73.For additionalinformation on Kepler'sknowledgeof this
tradition, see Methuen, Kepler'sTiubingen see Barker,
(cit.n. 2). On Kepler'suse ofthesedoctrines,
"Lutheran Responseto Copernicus"(cit.n. 2).
Astronomia
59 Kepler, (cit.n. 2), p. 286.
Nova,chap. 19; Donahue,NewAstronomy
60
Nova,chap. 19; Donahue,NewAstronomy
Kepler,Astronomia (cit.n. 2), p. 286.
61 Ann.
PeterBarkerand BernardR. Goldstein,"Distanceand Velocityin Kepler'sAstronomy,"
Sci. 51 (1994):59-73.
62
"[P]roponamlectoriexemplum lucisplanegenuinam, cumin SOLIS corporeet ipsa niduletur,
indequecomeshuicvirtuti motrici in totummundum emicet,"Kepler,Astronomia Nova,p. 172; cf.
Donahue,NewAstronomy (cit.n. 2), p. 383.
63 Kepler,AstronomiaNova,p. 173; cf. Donahue,NewAstronomy (cit.n. 2), p. 386. In margin:
"Exemplum inLuce."In text:"Utvis argumenti [literally:
a similitantositevidentior" "In orderthat
theforceoftheargument froma similarthingbe thatmuchmoreevident"].
67
Kepler,AstronomiaNova,pp. 269-70; cf.Donahue,NewAstronomy (cit.n. 2), 549-50,corre-
spondingto thepassagesbetweenthemarginalnotes:"Exemplanaturalialibrationum huiusmodi"
and"Exemplidefectus."
68 Kepler,AstronomiaNova,pp. 271-74; cf. Donahue,NewAstronomy (cit.n. 2), pp. 550ff.In
margin:"Exemplum Telluris"(p. 271) and"Exemplum Magneticum" (p. 272).
69 Kepler,AstronomiaNova (cit. n. 2), p. 273, witha marginalnoteby Kepler:"Reciprocation
worksaccording tothelawofthebalance;hencethename'Libration."'In chapter 33 oftheAstrono-
miaNova,Keplerintroduced thebalancebeamas a preliminary analogyforthemotionoftheplanets,
here invokingterminology drawnfrommedievalphysics:"intensionand remissionof motion."
Donahue,NewAstronomy (cit.n. 2), pp. 376, 378; see also JohnE. Murdochand EdithD. Sylla,
"The Scienceof Motion??'in Sciencein theMiddleAges,ed. David C. Lindberg(Chicago:Univ.
ChicagoPress,1978),pp. 206-64, especiallypp. 237ff.In chap.57 (Donahue,NewAstronomy [cit.
IX. CONCLUSION
to theNewAstronomy,
75 In Kepler'sintroduction thereis a sectionthatbegins,"Thereare,how-
ever,manymorepeoplewhoaremovedbypietyto withhold consentfromCopernicus, fearingthat
falsehoodmightbe chargedagainsttheHolySpiritspeakingin thescriptures ifwe saythattheearth
is movedand thesunstandsstill"(Donahue,NewAstronomy [cit.n. 2], p. 59). Keplergoes on to
arguethatsuchfearsarebaseless.
thatexemplum
scheme.In thesecond,itis therelatedconviction argumentsreveal
thelawsbywhichGod governs ordered
theprovidentially the
worldthatvindicates
lawsofplanetarymotion.
Based on Causes Kepler regardswhat we have called the
In A New Astronomy
distance-velocity ruleandthereciprocation ruleas thetruelaws,fromwhichthe
ellipseandtheAreaLaw followas necessary consequences. Theselatter aredistin-
guishedfromotherpossiblepatterns, suchas thevia buccosa,andguaranteed as the
onlypossiblepattern ofplanetary motion, becausetheyfollowfromrulesor laws
thatareknowntobe partoftheprovidential plan.According to theacceptedstan-
dardsof regressus itis Kepler'sdemonstration thathisanalysisyieldsa uniquean-
swerthatshowsitis also sufficient. Keplercanthenconcludethathehasdiscovered
theonetruecauseofplanetary motion, satisfyingthemoststringent methodological
requirements ofhiscontemporaries andjustifying thetitleofhisbook.Atthesame
timehe completestheCopernicanagendaof providing a physically real,thatis,
causallybased,astronomy. It wouldalso havebeenapparent to hiscontemporaries
thatKeplerhas scrupulously observedtheacceptedorderof subordination or sub-
alternation inthesciences.His fundamental principlesaretheological; theyareused
to guarantee conclusionsin physics;andthese,in turn, areusedtodemonstrate re-
sultsin astronomy.
Kepleris usuallycredited withdiscovering threeoftheearliestscientific lawsof
themodernperiod.If we areright, a morehistorically defensible claimwouldbe
thatKeplerbelievedhe haddiscovered thepartofGod'sprovidential planthatem-
bodiedthepattern of thecosmos,andthedivinelawsbywhichGod regulated its
movingparts.The idea of a providential plan,and especiallythedivinelawsthat
regulate itsparts,maytherefore be seenas an essentialsteppreceding andpreparing
thewayforthesecularconceptofa lawofnature.