Ptolemy's Cosmology in Greek and Arabic: The Background and Legacy of the Planetary Hypotheses (Ptolemaeus Arabus Et Latinus - Texts, 4) (Arabic and English Edition)

Ptolemy's Almagest (2nd century AD) is the most influential work of ancient and medieval astronomy. This work, however, does not tell us the full story about its author's views of the heavens. After completing the Almagest, Ptolemy turned his attention to a physical investigation of celestial motions. The result is the Planetary Hypotheses, a bold attempt to provide a celestial physics that coheres with the mathematical account of astronomical observations in his Almagest. This book provides the first complete critical edition and English translation of the Arabic version of the Planetary Hypotheses, which is lost for the most part in its original Greek. It furthermore provides an extensive commentary on the whole work, which situates the Planetary Hypotheses within the context of its time and investigates philosophical ideas central to the work. These include the epistemic value of mathematics relative to natural philosophy, and the shape, number, and dynamics of the celestial bodies. The book also investigates the influence of the Planetary Hypotheses on a wide range of medieval Arabic astronomical and philosophical works from the 9th to the 13th century AD. The upshot is to establish the Planetary Hypotheses as a crucial text for understanding the history of philosophy and science from Greek antiquity to the Arabic Middle Ages. Contents Abbreviations Acknowledgments I: Introduction The Planetary Hypotheses History of the Text and its Authenticity Modern Research The Arabic Translator(s) Editorial Principles Two Notes on the English Translation: ‘Hypothesis’ and ‘Sphere’ Ptolemy’s Cosmology in the Medieval Arabic Tradition II: Astronomy, Natural Philosophy, and the Physical Reality of the Celestial Bodies Ptolemy’s Methodology and Epistemology in the Almagest and Planetary Hypotheses Ptolemy’s Epistemology and Astronomy in Late Antiquity The Arabic Tradition Early Astronomers in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries ad Ptolemaic Astronomy in falsafa: al-Kindī, al-Fārābī, and Avicenna The Rise of a New Cosmological Tradition: al-Bīrūnī, Ibn al-Hayṯam, and Kūšyār ibn Labbān Philosophers in al-Andalus on Ptolemaic and Aristotelian Astronomy The Marāġan Astronomers: between Ptolemaic Astronomy and Aristotelian Natural Philosophy III: The Dynamics of Celestial Motions Ptolemy’s Psychological Approach in Planetary Hypotheses II.5 and 6 Comparable Trends in Ancient Peripatetic Philosophy Celestial Dynamics in the Arabic Tradition Merging Natural Philosophy with Astrology and Astronomy: al-Kindī Ibn al-Hayṯam and al-Bīrūnī: Criticism of Ptolemy’s Dynamic Theory The Inclusion of Ptolemaic Cosmology in Metaphysical Discussions: al-Fārābī and Avicenna In the Footsteps of Ibn al-Hayṯam and Avicenna: al-Ḫaraqī and Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī Averroës on Ptolemy’s Dynamic Theory in his Commentaries on Aristotle IV: Conclusion V: The Arabic Version of the Planetary Hypotheses: Edition and Translation VI: Commentary I.1–2 I.3–4 I.5–7 I.8–14 I.15 I.16–19 I.20–21 II.1–2 II.3 II.4 II.5 II.6 II.7–8 II.9–10 II.11–16 II.17 II.18 Glossary Bibliography The most influential work of ancient astronomy is the Almagest of Ptolemy (fl. 2nd century AD). But that work does not tell us everything about its author's views regarding the heavens. Sometime after completing it, Ptolemy turned his attention to giving a physical account of celestial motion. The result is his most important cosmological work, the Planetary Hypotheses, a bold attempt to provide a celestial physics that coheres with the mathematical account of astronomical observations in his Almagest. This book provides the first complete critical edition and English translation of the Arabic version of the Planetary Hypotheses, which is partially lost in its original Greek. It furthermore provides ample commentary on the whole work, which situates the Planetary Hypotheses within the context of its time and investigates philosophical ideas central to the work. These include the epistemic value of mathematics relative to natural philosophy, and the shape, number, and dynamics of the celestial bodies. The book also investigates the influence of the Planetary Hypotheses on a wide range of medieval Arabic astronomical and philosophical works from the 9th to the 13th century AD. The upshot is to establish the Planetary Hypotheses as a crucial text for understanding the history of philosophy and science from Greek antiquity to the Arabic Middle Ages.