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From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe, by Alexander Koyré, [1957], at sacred-texts.com


p. xi

Contents

 

Preface,

vii

 

Introduction,

1

I.

The Sky and the Heavens,

5

 

NICHOLAS OF CUSA AND MARCELLUS PALIGENIUS

 

II.

The New Astronomy and the New Metaphysics,

28

 

N. COPERNICUS, TH. DIGGES, G. BRUNO AND W. GILBERT

 

III.

The New Astronomy against the New Metaphysics,

58

 

JOHANNES KEPLER'S REJECTION OF INFINITY

 

IV.

Things Never Seen Before and Thoughts Never Thought: the Discovery of New Stars in the World Space and the Materialization of Space,

88

 

GALILEO AND DESCARTES

 

V.

Indefinite Extension or Infinite Space,

110

 

DESCARTES AND HENRY MORE

 

VI.

God and Space, Spirit and Matter,

125

 

HENRY MORE

 

VII.

Absolute Space, Absolute Time and Their Relations to God,

155

 

MALEBRANCHE, NEWTON AND BENTLEY

 

VIII.

The Divinization of Space,

190

 

JOSEPH RAPHSON

 

IX.

God and the World: Space, Matter, Ether and Spirit,

206

 

ISAAC NEWTON

 

 

p. xii

 

X.

Absolute Space and Absolute Time: God's Frame of Action,

221

 

BERKELEY AND NEWTON

 

XI.

The Work-Day God and the God of the Sabbath,

235

 

NEWTON AND LEIBNIZ

 

XII.

Conclusion:

 

 

The Divine Artifex and the Dieu Fainéant,

273

 

Notes,

277

 

Index,

305

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1. Typical pre-Copernican diagram of the universe, 7

Figure 2. Thomas Digges's diagram of the infinite Copernican universe, 37

Figure 3. The figure M of Kepler, 79

Figure 4. Galileo's star-picture of the shield and sword of Orion, 93


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