Abstract

In response to a claim that the philosopher has little or nothing to add to our understanding of crucial events in the history of science, it is proposed that Johannes Kepler's work on planetary,motion puts him at one with the interest of the philosopher in the "good". Where the historical record is apparently blank, in Kepler's thinking about his third law of motion, its "logic" and "rationale" is seen as based on the formation of a binding relation between astronomers. They are seen as standing together in defense of the truth, and standing accordingly in service to the "good".