Date of Award
Spring 8-1-2002
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Gale E. Christianson
Abstract
Since the 1980s, cultural history has applied the analysis of symbols to explain historical problems. Cultural historians such as Robert Darnton, Roger Chartier, and Dominick LaCapra have completed significant work in this area. Using their models, this study defines a cultural symbol within the history of science: the geocentric universe. It examines the symbol's origin and evolution from a mere idea to that of a symbol of significance. Beginning with the ancient Greece of Aristotle and Plato through the Middle Ages of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Dante Alighieri, the symbol's potent influence expanded via powerful narratives and beautiful works of art. It became not only a description of the universe as understood by natural philosophers, it became a symbol of religious truth, a representation of stability, a depiction of temporal and heavenly power. The symbol endured the test of time to survive and thrive until it was challenged by a thinker of the scientific revolution, Galileo Galilei, in Renaissance Tuscany.
Recommended Citation
Isaacson, Kathleen M., "The Geocentric Universe: The Making Of a Cultural Symbol" (2002). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3429.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/3429
Included in
Cultural History Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Philosophy of Science Commons