Knowledge Throughout History: The Ptolemaic Theory

Ptolemy, a Roman astronomer came up with the theory that the universe revolved around Earth and all the creatures inhabiting it (Doc. C). This theory, The Geocentric Universe of Ptolemy, was adjusted by most of the people during The Middle Ages. However, much later on, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, disagreed with Ptolemy’s theory. With his use of math and reason, he came up with a new theory called The Heliocentric Universe of Copernicus (Doc. C). He said that the universe & Earth itself revolves around the sun. The Church denied this theory because they did not want to be proven wrong. If the Church was wrong about this part of the universe, this would then cause man to wonder what else they could be wrong about, or even lied to them about. This new theory taught men to think for themselves and not to rely on the Church for

At the time, the geocentric model of the universe was considered gospel: both the church and the scientific community (at that time the two were heavily interrelated) endorsed this view because it put man at the center of the universe. Even then, it had the stamp of scientific legitimacy in Ptolemy, who had centuries earlier “proven” that the Sun revolved around the Earth. Using advanced math and his observation skills, Copernicus was able to determine that the earth revolved around the Sun. Just as importantly, he was able to challenge the orthodox view, and instead of building off of it, exposed the shoddy foundations upon which this view was

Language is a very import part in our life, we carry it with us through all the steps, processes, moments experiences of our life, language built us and make us grow and the most important thing is that it grows with us, changes, modifies itself, and becomes more appropriate and specific. As we pointed out language help us to create and understand the world around us, gives meaning to everything and gives birth to emotions and feelings; a world without language would be meaningless and very lonely. Language it’s what help us grow up, the more we learn through it, the more we desire to experience and study in deep, leading us to new prospective, opening our mind to more specific and deep concepts, ideas, projects, goals. We really can’t

Claudius Ptolemy and Nicholas Copernicus were two famous astronomers known for their opposing views of the universe. Ptolemy founded the Ptolemaic system, which stated that the Earth was at the center of the universe. His idea was also known as the geocentric theory. The geocentric theory stated that the Earth was in the center of the universe, standing still, while all the other planets and stars revolved around it. The lack of scientific knowledge led his theory to be widely accepted. The Copernican theory, which revolved around a heliocentric idea, claimed that the sun was at the center of the universe, while the planets, including Earth, circled around it. His idea was not widely popular because of the already accepted propositions with

Language is an incredibly powerful tool for communication and the words we use control the

In the words of George Orwell, “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” Language has been spoken for over 350,000 years. It has expanded tremendously, but its power has never changed. The use of language shapes peoples' perceptions and the depth of interactions because it can demean, avoid, portray emphasis, persuade, and conceal from simple phrases such as “I feel like” and “just”.

Even though the mathematicians who study the universe were unsure of the revolution period of the sun and moon, furthermore the inaccuracies regarding the length of seasons, Copernicus’ heliocentric model takes steps towards accuracies . A strong example of this attention for accuracy is that, in comparison to Aristotle’s model, Copernicus’ universal model incorporated thirteen more centuries of complied data in order to better represent the universe. It is important to compare the Aristotelian model to the Copernican model because it shows that the scientific field made adaptations to the way that gravity and the centrifugal motion of planets function . From a historical aspect this is important because it shows that regardless of whether or not these ideas were accepted they were still thought up, meaning that the thought processes incorporated modern thought . By examining the spherical interpretation of the universe, Copernicus had to increase its size in order to accommodate for his adaptations of gravitational pull . Copernicus’ theory is that because gravitational pull exists, theoretically if the earth were predominantly water, the earth would retain its

Everyone did not believe in the Copernican theory when it was first presented. Galileo was one of the supporters of this theory, and provided evidence to support this theory with his telescopic observations. Galileo made a lot of observations using his telescope.

2) In the field of astronomy, the earth-centered description of the planetary orbits was overthrown by the Copernican system, in which the sun was placed at the center of a series of concentric, circular planetary orbits. Later, this theory was modified, as measurements of the planets motions were found to be compatible with elliptical, not circular, orbits, and still later planetary motion was found to be derivable from Newton's laws.

Both scholars and the church accepted the Ptolemaic system. Copernicus hesitated to announce his heliocentric view for fear of a trail for heresy.4 The Ptolemaic system could easily be believed if one assumed the Christian belief that the Earth was the center of the universe God created. People were afraid to believe a theory that went against the Bible's teachings. His friends who were interested in his theories persuaded him to write at least an abstract for them. He entitled it the Commentariolus (Commentary). This commentary stated his theory in the form of seven axioms, reserving the mathematical part for the principle work. From this, the doctrine of the heliocentric system began to spread.

While there he performed church duties, practiced medicine and studied astronomy. In Copernicus’ time most astronomers believed the theory the greek astronomer Ptolomy had developed more than 1,000 years ago. Ptolomy said the Earth was the center of the universe and did not move. Copernicus thought that Ptolemy's theory was not correct. Sometime between the years of 1507 and 1515 he first proposed the principles of his heliocentric or sun centered astronomy.

Copernicus was studying and writing during the Renaissance and arguably the Scientific Revolution. The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of old ideas and a new way of looking at things not just in the areas of science but throughout literature, arts and many other areas. It was a time when new ideas did not seem to provide solutions to all the questions that were being asked.( ) Copernicus proposed a new system of planetary motion that had the sun at the centre of the universe rather than the earth. However contrary to popular belief, this was not a new and revolutionary idea. The ancients had proposed such a solution, most notably from Aristarchus who argued that it was more plausible for the sun to be at the centre rather than the earth. However Copernicus makes no mention of Aristarchus in De Revolutionibus. Not long before Copernicus began writing, Cusa suggested this again, and it is argued that this may be where Copernicus got early inspiration from, although this is not proven. ( ) It was in the rest of his writing that Copernicus

How did Nicolaus Copernicus’s scientific conclusions change the way we see the solar system today? Nicolaus Copernicus’s theory of the universe was life changing to science. Because of his theories[and newer technology] we now know how our part of the Milky Way was created and placed together by God’s hands.

It is not just truth that matters, but how we arrive at the truth that matters. Had he had evidence to back his claims, Copernicus' theory would most likely have been adopted, but because he lacked the neccessary proof to his claim it was dismised. Later on Galileo would come along and with better technology, make better observations, and would join Copernicus' corner, but despite this new empirical evidence no one budged. Despite having both Copernicus' speculation and Galileo's empirical observation, the more accurate Helio-centric theory would still not be adopted. Soon Kepler would come along, and with conceptual skill, describe the shape and motion of our solar system. Motion now occured in elipses, like a streched out ring, and as planets get closer to the sun they speed up and slow down as they move away. Finally, Newton came along and came up with a mathematical formula to neatly tie it all in a bow. While Newton was able to "simplify" other planetary laws, it is unable to describe the truth of what is happening from every perspective and it can lead to a weak understanding of what that truth is. Copernicus was very religious minded and came from the position the we are not the center of God's world, inspiring Galileo to see and observe this phenomena, and giving Kepler

his role in the Scientific Revolution is often misunderstood. Copernicus is commonly known as the man who introduced the idea of a heliocentric universe. He did very little to proof his claim,. This opened the door allowing scientists like Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and later Newton, to develop as a result of what he proposed. Copernicus’ work was ultimately most significant because it changed the way people used physics and astronomy to understand the universe.