Mathematical Disquisitions The Booklet of Theses Immortalized by Galileo [Hardcover]

Mathematical Disquisitions: The Booklet of Theses Immortalized by Galileooffers a new English translation of the 1614Disquisitiones Mathematicae,which Johann Georg Locher wrote under the guidance of the German Jesuit astronomer Christoph Scheiner. The booklet, an anti-Copernican astronomical work, is of interest in large part because Galileo Galilei, who came into conflict with Scheiner over the discovery of sunspots, devoted numerous pages within his famous 1632Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems—Ptolemaic and Copernicanto ridiculingDisquisitiones. The brief text (the original was approximately one hundred pages) is heavily illustrated with dozens of original figures, making it an accessible example of "geocentric astronomy in the wake of the telescope."
 
The treatise provides valuable insight into the astronomical debates of the seventeenth century, a time when the question of the Earth's motion was still very much in flux. Whereas Galileo's works are readily available, there are far fewer translations of works arguing the other side. Christopher Graney's translation focuses on the mathematical and astronomical core of Locher's work and is suitable for undergraduate students in courses on the history of science, philosophy of science, astronomy, and physics.
 

"Christopher Graney has translated foreign terms and concepts in efficient, modern ways, often trimming from them the complicated metaphysical and rhetorical context. Many of Graney's notes explain mathematical concepts and astronomical phenomena in reference to what astronomers understand today, which will make the text more digestible to an audience familiar with and interested in modern astronomy. The text offers a nice counterbalance to the standard canon of Galileo readings students encounter."—Darin Hayton, Haverford College