Keplerâs Somnium as Purgatorial Journey

Aviva Rothman

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Chapter 4 Keplerâs Somnium as Purgatorial Journey

In: The Eschatological Imagination

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Aviva Rothman

Aviva Rothman
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 99â120

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004688247_005

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Abstract

In place of the motionless earth at the centre of the hierarchically ordered Ptolemaic system, the Copernican system posited a moving, de-centred earth in a vastly larger (some argued infinite) cosmos. This raised questions both about the old hierarchy and traditional Christian conceptions of heaven and hell, and about the earthâs uniqueness and the privileged status of its inhabitants. In answer to these questions, Johannes Kepler, like some of his contemporaries, reimagined Eden as an epistemological state, rather than simply a physical space. Kepler used his Somnium to posit the moon as a metaphorical purgatory, knowledge of which enabled astronomers to reach divine truth on and about the earth. Kepler likewise argued that it was not stability or centrality of position but rather reasoned, moving perspective that signalled the privileged status of the earth, and enabled its inhabitants to recognize their divine likeness.

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The Eschatological Imagination

Space, Time, and Experience (1300â1800)

Series:Â Intersections, Volume: 96

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004688247

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 15 Oct 2024

Subjects

Front Matter

Part 1 Cosmology and Eschatology

Part 2 Underlands and Netherworlds

Part 3 Visions of Heaven and Hell

Part 4 Spiritual Reckoning and Refuge

Part 5 Sites of Purgation, Meditation, and Martyrdom

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Chapter 4 Keplerâs Somnium as Purgatorial Journey

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The Eschatological Imagination

Space, Time, and Experience (1300â1800)

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Chapter 4 Keplerâs Somnium as Purgatorial Journey

Space, Time, and Experience (1300â1800)