An extraordinary history of humanity''s changing vision of the universe. In this masterly synthesis, Arthur Koestler cuts through the sterile distinction between ''sciences'' and ''humanities'' to bring to life the whole history of cosmology from the Babylonians to Newton. He shows how the tragic split between science and religion arose and how, in particular, the modern world-view replaced the medieval world-view in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. He also provides vivid and judicious pen-portraits of a string of great scientists and makes clear the role that political bias and unconscious prejudice played in their creativity.

Autorentext

Arthur Koestler

Klappentext

An extraordinary history of humanity's changing vision of the universe. In this masterly synthesis, Arthur Koestler cuts through the sterile distinction between 'sciences' and 'humanities' to bring to life the whole history of cosmology from the Babylonians to Newton. He shows how the tragic split between science and religion arose and how, in particular, the modern world-view replaced the medieval world-view in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. He also provides vivid and judicious pen-portraits of a string of great scientists and makes clear the role that political bias and unconscious prejudice played in their creativity.

Inhalt
The Sleepwalkers - Arthur Koestler Preface
Introduction
Part One: The Heroic Age

1. Dawn
2. The Harmony of the Spheres
3. The Earth Adrift
4. The Failure of Nerve
5. The Divorce from Reality
   Chronological Table to Part One
   Part Two: Dark Interlude
6. The Rectangular Universe
7. The Walled-in Universe
8. The Universe of the Schoolmen
   Chronological Table to Part Two
   Part Three: The Timid Canon
9. The Life of Copernicus
10. The System of Copernicus
    Chronological Table to Part Three
    Part Four: The Watershed
11. The Young Kepler
12. The "Cosmic Mystery"
13. Growing Pains
14. Tycho de Brahe
15. Tycho and Kepler
16. The Giving of the Laws
17. Kepler Depressed
18. Kepler and Galileo
19. Chaos and Harmony
20. Computing a Bride
21. The Last Years
    Part Five: The Parting of the Ways
22. The Burden of Proof
23. The Trial of Galileo
24. The Newtonian Synthesis
    Chronological Table to Parts Four and Five
    Epilogue
    Selected Bibliography
    Notes
    Index