Ptolemy's Universe: The Natural Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Ptolemy's Astronomy

Rating:
Summary: An important contribution
Review: Taub's work is a valuable contribution to our understanding of an important thinker of Late Antiquity, too often neglected for lack of biographical information. As Taub shows, however, through her patient and careful analysis of Ptolemy's texts and likely sources, we can learn something of the Alexandrian astronomer - chiefly that he cannot be dismissed as just as the late-arriving mathematical straight-man to the wisecracking ancient philosopher Aristotle. The duo are often given semi-equal billing for the cosmology which dominated in the West for more than a thousand years, until the coming of Copernicus. Yet the contradictions intrinsic to the so-called Aristotelian-Ptolemaic world-system, repeatedly noticed by medieval astronomers, and an important motivation for the cosmological work of the sixteenth century, are suddenly made less surprising when one realises that Ptolemy had a philosophy of his own that was not quite Aristotelian. Helpful to all students of medieval and early-modern astronomy (particularly those who wish to understand the opening of Copernicus' De revolutionibus), this book is an essential companion to Ptolemy's own works, helping bring the author of the mathematically intimidating Syntaxis (or Almagest), the quirky Tetrabiblos, and even the list-based Geography to life. Clearly written, and clearly argued, it clearly belongs on your bookshelf.