The Harmony of the World (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society) [Hardcover]

Johannes Kepler (Author), E. J. Aiton (Author), J. V. Field (Author), A. M. Duncan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, | Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Johannes Kepler is remembered today chiefly for the 3 laws of planetary motion known after him. Rejecting the view of those who regarded astronomical hypotheses as mathematical fictions, Kepler sought to derive the true motions of the planets from physical causes. Yet he combined his search for physical causes with a vision of the world as a manifestation of divine harmony. This led him to consider the formal causes or archetypes underlying the world's construction. Kepler's favorite astronomical work, Harmony of the World (Harmonice mundi), was planned in 1599 as a sequel to the Mysterium cosmographicum, although it was not completed & published until 1619. In this vol., the translators have put the Harmony of the World into the kind of clear but earnest language which they suppose Kepler would have used if he had been writing today. Illus.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Harmonices Mundi is one of Johannes Kepler's major works and this translation is a superb work of immense scholarship. Johannes Kepler's The Harmony of the World is divided into five books: One regular polygons; on the congruence of figures; on the origin of harmonic proportions; on harmonic configurations in astrology; on the harmony of the motions of the heavens. As translated from Kepler, "Finite things which are circumscribed and shaped can also be grasped by the mind: infinite and unbounded things, insofar as they are such, can be held in by no bonds of knowledge, which is obtained from definitions, by no bonds of constitutions. For shapes are in the archetype prior to their being in the product; in the divine mind prior to being in creatures, differently indeed in respect of their subject, but the same in the form of their essence. " Using the original figures from Kepler's work, the translators include a careful introduction and meticulous notes. The Harmony Of The World is more than just a major milestone in the history of western thought, it is a seminal work that is still rewarding for the reader even as we are entering the 21st century. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 549 pages
• Publisher: American Philosophical Society (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871692090
• ISBN-13: 978-0871692092
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kepler vs. Aristotle, August 30, 2008

By 

Mike Vander Nat (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Harmony of the World (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society) (Hardcover)

This book is a thorough going treatment of the subject of Harmony. It contradicts Aristotle, who held science back for centuries because of his witting fraud upon the discoveries of Pythagoras, Thales, et al. Aristotle misrepresented the ideas concerning Music, Harmonics, Geometry as well as Astronomy, which Plato described in the Epinomis to be the fount of all knowledge. In this volume, Kepler proves that the pre-Aristotelean hypothesis of a helio-centric universe is correct, and provides the needed data to demonstrate that the planets arrange their orbits around the sun in the manner of a musical scale. Here one can understand the deeper meaning of Harmony, beyond what we hear in music. Kepler seeks out causes, in the musical domain, as well as in the astrophysical domain. Up to the time of this book, no one had solved the puzzle. This book is a work of genius.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Quality book, May 24, 2010

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D. J. Paz (us of a) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Harmony of the World (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society) (Hardcover)

The binding is held together very firmly and the translator's notes range from helpful to fascinating. This book is a "no brainer" must buy for students of 17th century German astronomy.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kepler's revolution in astronomy, December 30, 2009

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Roger Ham (NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Harmony of the World (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society) (Hardcover)

Today's scientists of all disciplines would do well to study Kepler's original work. This is not only a seminal work in the history of astronomy, but a case study in the creative process of discovery. By rejecting empiricism and sense certainty, Kepler used his mental instruments, geometry and music, to investigate the harmony which orders all fundamental physical processes. The same mental processes which make humans unique must be coherent with the principles of creation and development of the universe as a whole.