PHIL202 Timeline by P.Perry - Week 1

Nicolaus Copernicus

Feb 19, 1473

Nicolaus Copernicus, (1473–1543), known as the father of modern astronomy; was a mathematician, astronomer and religious figure born February 19,1943 in Torun, Poland. Copernicus was well respected as a canon within the Catholic Church and regarded as a renowned astronomer by religious figures. Copernicus interested in astronomy started as a simple hobby. However, the more he studied astronomy the more he found an 'earth centered' solar system to be unreasonable.

Nicolaus Coprnicus

1514

Copernicus first released a detailed summary of his hypothesis in 1514, titled the Commentariolus (Little Commentary) regarding the concept of a heliocentric solar system in which the sun, rather than the earth, is the center of the solar system. Furthermore, he gave details regarding the earth not only rotating on its own axis once a day (24 hours) but also orbiting the sun once a year (365 days). Link text

Nicolaus Copernicus

1543

In 1543 the Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus published ‘Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs’ known as heliocentric or sun centered system. The book contained a preface to Pope Paul III and Copernicus waited until shortly before his death to publish the book due to the religious implications involved. Andreas Osiander, urged Copernicus to publish his theory as hypothetical, stating, “the theory should only be used as a calculating tool” (Godfrey-Smith, 16).

Nicolaus Copernicus - Dates and Citations

1543

Godfrey-Smith, Peter, Theory and Reality an Introduction to Philosophy of Science, EBSCO Publishing, 2003. http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login History.com staff. Nicolaus Copernicus, History.com 2009. http://www.history.com/topics/nicolaus-copernicus Westman, Robert S. Encyclopedia Britannica, last updated May 20, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolaus-Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus – Mini Biography, Biography.com Retrieved July 08, 2018 https://binged.it/2zvDJFx

Nicolaus Copernicus

May 24, 1543

Nicolaus Copernicus died May 24, 1553. The catholic church banned Copernicus's work on the heliocentric solar system. According to Godfrey-Smith, “Copernicus theory was stated to be used as a tool for calculation, this became a historically important statement of a view about the role of scientific theories known as instrumentalism, which holds that we should think of theories only as predictive tools rather than as attempts to describe the hidden structure of nature” (16).