Ptolemy in Perspective: Use and Criticism of his Work from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century (Archimedes (23))

Ptolemy was the most important physical scientist of the Roman Empire, and for a millennium and a half his writings on astronomy, astrology, and geography were models for imitation, resources for new work, and targets of criticism. Ptolemy in Perspective traces reactions to Ptolemy from his own times to ours. The nine studies show the complex processes by which an ancient scientist and his work gained and subsequently lost an overreaching reputation and authority. An Unplublished Astronomical Papyrus Contemporary With Ptolemy / Anne Tihon -- Ancient Rejection And Adoption Of Ptolemy's Frame Of Reference For Longitudes / Alexander Jones -- Ptolemy's Doctrine Of The Terms And Its Reception / Stephan Heilen -- The Tradition Of Texts And Maps In Ptolemy's Geography / Florian Mittenhuber -- Islamic Reactions To Ptolemy's Imprecisions / F. Jamil Ragep -- The Use And Abuse Of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos In Renaissance And Early Modern Europe : Two Case Studies (giovanni Pico Della Mirandola And Filippo Fantoni) / H. Darrel Rutkin -- Tycho, Longomontanus, And Kepler On Ptolemy's Solar Observations And Theory, Precession Of The Equinoxes, And Obliquity Of The Ecliptic / N.m. Swedlow -- Dunthorne, Mayer, And Lalande On The Secular Acceleration Of The Moon / J.m. Steele. [edited By] Alexander Jones. From May 31 Through June 2, 2007 The Division Of The Humanities And Social Sciences At The California Institute Of Technology ... Hosted A Conference ... The Present Volume Gathers Most Of The Papers From That Conference Together With A New Paper By The Editor--p. Xii. Includes Bibliographical References.