Page 5 - Cognition and Thinking of the history of Science and Technology

The origins of the mathematisation of the sky

• The Pythagorean principle is the origin
of the mathematisation of the whole
nature (that came very later, during

Modern science).

• From Plato, this mathematisation was
applied to the sky. In his dialogue

Timaeus he declared that the sky is
perfect and is characterised by the

perfect shapes and movements that are
the sphere and the uniform circular
movement.

• From then on, all astronomers of the

Western world until Kepler tried to
construct a mathematical model of the
universe based on this principle.

• This model was even spread as far as
China during the Mongolian period.

Plato