One of our (Ghent's) terrific PhD students in history of science, Nienke Roelants, presented an update on her work on the 16th century reception of Copernicus yesterday. She focused on Rheticus and Peucer (who is a fascinating character). A quote from Peucer about Tycho is quite tantalizing: “I hope that I will live long enough to know in what way the consensus in experiences would confirm and stabilize the new construction that you have established by means of your hypotheses with reference to the giant and wonderful works of God, how much we will have understood of the highest knowledge of God, we will only understand when we as eyewitnesses will personally behold the works” [Peucer, Ad Dominum Tychonem Brahe (Tycho Brahe, Opera Omnia, VII, 190)]
Now, I read this as Peucer claiming that with Tycho's new (and much improved) astronomical data no new experiences can dislodge the Tychonic hypothesis. That is, in the midst of one of the great intellectual revolutions, Peucer expects that a final theory (whatever it is--I dont think he holds out for complete knowledge of God) is within reach.
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