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Cosmology

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Abstract

The Renaissance views of the cosmos largely followed the medieval pattern. Only by the sixteenth century, some important innovations were proposed. These resulted from the increased application of mathematical methods. Whereas earlier ideas on the universe depended on metaphysical and religious insights; astronomers increasingly discussed the constitution of the universe referring to empirical facts. Especially the work of Copernicus (1543) set the agenda for the early modern debates on the constitution of the universe. It is only in the course of these debates that a field of study arose that can be identified to modern cosmology.

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Correspondence to Rienk Vermij .

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Vermij, R. (2015). Cosmology. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_257-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_257-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Cosmology in the Renaissance
    Published:
    13 November 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_257-2

  2. Original

    Cosmology
    Published:
    19 February 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_257-1