Cosmology without Headaches
A college level course in preparation
God is dead, proclaimed Nietzsche, by which he meant that pre-modern cosmology was ended, both anchor-points of its foundation (Reason & Revelation) having eroded. The growing dissonance of faith against science (theology vs. philosophy) at last seemed resolved by the strident trumpeting of reason. Knowledge, post-Enlightenment, was understood to have defeated belief. Modern philosophy’s incapacity, however, to establish a scientific or reason-based morality, despite Herculean efforts by such powerful minds as Kant & Hegel, is now obviously and nefariously affecting society at large (just as the ancient Greek philosophers warned), weakening and possibly destroying the prevailing Judeo-Christian ethic that has cemented and supported ‘1st world’ civilization. This is the ‘crisis of modernity.’ Western cosmology, deep in its foundation (too far below us for the 'public media' to notice and, in any case, too boring to report), is crumbling. Failure to somehow replace the aging social cement, weakly provided now only by a diminishing sense of nationalism, or to establish universally accepted mores or a consonant set of beliefs regarding the meaning and purpose of existence, is anathema to a peaceful, post-modern, global society. Cosmology without Headaches undertakes to examine the history of humanity's changing concepts of the cosmos; to investigate the development of the notion of 'the world' and the circumstances surrounding the alleged demise of its Creator; to discover and expose the responsible party and the most prominent members of the host of accessories-to-the-crime (and the vast conspiracy of their henchmen); to conduct an inquiry, also, into the purported demise of the assassins, and to speculate on the possibility of a resurrection of the Spirit of the Universe.
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The idea, in connection with this website, is to transcribe the lecture series (still being worked up)
and to make the lectures available on the internet.
They may be eventually be recorded for distribution as an audio file or CD as well.
Visitors to this site will be informed when either project is complete and available.
At the moment, however, this is not at the top of the priorities list.
The numbered buttons (above) correspond to lectures available, but not necessarily complete.
(They may never be 'complete.' Comments are welcome at mythokrates.com)
Lecture Series
(in progress)
I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world.
--A. Einstein
S o m e r S o n g C o n c e p t s
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The geocentric universe based on Ptolemy's cosmology
(which is shown as if an insert at lower left--Tycho Brae's concept is shown at lower right). Drawing executed (artist/astronomer unidentified) shortly after the time of Galileo
but before the Copernican heliocentric concept had gained general acceptance.
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For an interesting view and some animated models of epicycles and also the nested concentric spheres idea of Eudoxus, visit the website of
Craig Sean McConnell
Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies
California State University, Fullerton (click html below)
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It is my firm conviction that the study of the history of scientific thought is most essential to a full understanding of the various aspects and achievements of modern culture. --Max Jammer
CONCEPTS OF SPACE: The History of Theories of Space in Physics
Dover Publications, NY, 1993 (from Preface to the first edition)
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