Abstract
In this introduction, we explain our choice to approach the topic of space from a cosmological perspective, that is, by studying the conceptions of space that were implicitly or explicitly entailed by ancient, medieval and early modern representations of the cosmos, and the role that imagination played in those conceptions. We compare our approach with those of Alexandre Koyré and Edward Grant, and we present the two important issues this book intends to shed light on, namely the continuity and discontinuity between ancient, medieval, and early modern conceptions of space and the cosmos; and the role that metaphysical, cosmological, and theological considerations played in the elaboration of new theories of space in the course of history. This chapter also presents the main, recurring themes of this book: the relation between place and space; the notion of imaginary spaces; the role played by thought experiments in discussions concerning the nature of space and the structure of the cosmos; the impact of the condemnation of 1277 on subsequent theories of space; and the relation between God’s immensity and the infinity of space.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Čapek 1976, xxi.
- 2.
For a broader approach in terms of disciplines see Vermeir and Regier 2016, whose edited volume embraces not only cosmological approaches to space, but also perceptual, optical, geographical, and chemical uses of spatial concepts.
- 3.
Koyré 1957, viii.
- 4.
See for example Mamiani 1979; Peterschmitt 2013; Miller 2014. For an approach that covers the period from the 12th to the 16th centuries, and a closer approximation to the aims of this book, see Suarez-Nani , Ribordy and Petagine 2017. See also Grant 1981, although he focuses on Aristotelian and scholastic influences in the early modern period and somewhat neglects the import of other traditions such as Epicureanism . Albert Einstein , in his foreword to Max Jammer’s Concepts of Space, insists on the lineage between ancient atomist theories and Newton ’s absolute space: Jammer 1954, xv. See also Čapek 1976, xx, xxiii.
- 5.
Although its scope is broader, as it is not solely focused on space, Machamer and Turnbull 1976 can be seen as an attempt, albeit somewhat tentative, to address related topics, in terms of a long-term integrated history and philosophy of science.
- 6.
Grant 1981, xii.
- 7.
On a mostly metaphysical approach to the topic in the early modern period, see Peterschmitt 2013.
- 8.
This was already noted by Max Jammer, although his approach centered on the relations between the concept of space and investigations in physics: Jammer 1954, vi, 2, 25–50.
- 9.
Grant 1981, xi.
- 10.
Quotation from Funkenstein 1986, 10. On God’s omnipresence see ibid., 23–116.
- 11.
Ibid., 14.
- 12.
See, for example, ibid., 63.
- 13.
Miller 2014, 1–2, 19–20.
- 14.
Ierodiakonou 2011.
- 15.
[Councils] 1973, 426.
- 16.
Grant 1981, 164.
- 17.
Ibid., 191.
References
Čapek, Milič, ed. 1976. The Concepts of Space and Time: Their Structure and their Development. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
[Councils]. 1973. Conciliorum oecumenicorum decreta, ed. Giuseppe Alberigo et al., 3rd ed. Bologna: Istituto per le scienze religiose.
Funkenstein, Amos. 1986. Theology and the Scientific Imagination from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Grant, Edward. 1981. Much Ado About Nothing: Theories of Space and Vacuum from the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ierodiakonou, Katerina. 2011. Remarks on The History of an Ancient Thought Experiment. In Thought Experiments in Methodological and Historical Contexts, ed. Katerina Ierodiakonou and Sophie Roux, 35–49. Leiden: Brill.
Jammer, Max. 1954. Concepts of Space: The History of Theories of Space in Physics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Koyré, Alexandre. 1957. From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.
Machamer, Peter K., and Robert G. Turnbull, eds. 1976. Motion and Time: Space and Matter. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Mamiani, Maurizio. 1979. Teorie dello spazio da Descartes a Newton. Milan: Franco Angeli.
Miller, David Marshall. 2014. Representing Space in the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Peterschmitt, Luc, ed. 2013. Espace et métaphysique de Gassendi à Kant: Anthologie. Paris: Hermann.
Suarez-Nani, Tiziana, Olivier Ribordy, and Antonio Petagine, eds. 2017. Lieu, espace, mouvement: Physique, métaphysique et cosmologie (XII e–XVI esiècles). Barcelona: Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales.
Vermeir, Koen, and Jonathan Regier, eds. 2016. Boundaries, Extents and Circulations: Space and Spatiality in Early Modern Natural Philosophy. Dordrecht: Springer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bakker, F.A., Bellis, D., Palmerino, C.R. (2018). Space, Imagination and the Cosmos, from Antiquity to the Early Modern Period: Introduction. In: Bakker, F., Bellis, D., Palmerino, C. (eds) Space, Imagination and the Cosmos from Antiquity to the Early Modern Period. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 48. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02765-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02765-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02764-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02765-0
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)