Ptolemy's universe : the natural philosophical and ethical foundations of Ptolemy's astronomy

Claudius Ptolemy, One Of The Greatest Scientists Of All Time, Probably Lived In Alexandria In The Second Century A.d. His Writings Dominated Astronomy And Cosmology In Medieval Times. The Replacement Of His Earth-centered Cosmology By The Sun-centered Cosmology Of Copernicus Is The Most Celebrated Event In The History Of Science. Yet, Although There Has Been Much Scholarly Discussion Of The Mathematical Aspects Of Ptolemy's Astronomy, Little Attention Has Been Paid To The Philosophical, And Particularly The Ethical, Ideas Which Animate The Astronomy. Ptolemy's Universe Is The First Modern Examination Of Ptolemy's Thought As A Whole, And Its Place In Greek Intellectual Culture. 1. Ptolemy And The Historians -- 2. The Philosophical Preface To The Syntaxis -- 3. The Hypotheses Underlying The Syntaxis. I. That The Heaven Moves Spherically. Ii. That The Earth, Taken As A Whole, Is Sensibly Spherical. Iii. That The Earth Is In The Middle Of The Heavens, With Regard To The Senses. Iv. That The Earth Has The Ratio Of A Point Relative To The Size Of The Heavens. V. That The Earth Makes No Motion Involving Change Of Place. Vi. That There Are Two Different Primary Motions In The Heavens -- 4. Ptolemy's Cosmology -- 5. The Divinity Of The Celestial Bodies And The Ethical Motivation For The Study Of The Heavens. I. The Greek Cosmological Tradition And The Search For The Divine. Ii. The Ethical Motivation To Study Astronomy. Liba Chaia Taub. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 173-183) And Index. Much has been written about Ptolemy's mathematical work, yet few attempts have approached his philosophical and cosmological ideas. By placing them within the broader context of Greek philosophy, mathematics and culture, Taub aims to provide insight into the nature of Greek scientific thought.