Theology and Science in Copernicus’ Universe

Abstract

The publication of Copernicus’ On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (since now on referred to as Revolutions) marked the beginning of the Scientific Revolution. Christian doctrine played a key role for the emergence of the scientific turning point, that brought about the transition from a qualitative to a quantitative approach to natural phenomena. Although the Polish scientist was not a philosopher in the ordinary sense of the term, he shared with many other protagonists of modern science the idea of the universe as mathematical harmony created by God. In this sense, modern scientific thought completed the development that took place since the Scholastic Age. In the historical period between the XII and the XVII century, indeed, Christianity proved a fundamental factor for a considerable growth in natural knowledge.