The Harmony of the World, by Johannes Kepler, is not only a seminal work in the history of astronomy, but a case study in the creative process of discovery.
These works also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton\'s theory of universal gravitation..
A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his laws of planetary motion, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astronomy.
About the Author: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer.
Though written centuries ago, The Harmony of the World remains a work of genius.
Up to the time of this book, no one had solved the puzzle.
Kepler seeks out causes, in the musical domain, as well as in the astrophysical domain.
Here one can understand the deeper meaning of Harmony, beyond what we hear in music.
In this volume, Kepler proves that the pre-Aristotelean hypothesis of a helio-centric universe is correct, and provides the needed data to demonstrate that the planets arrange their orbits around the sun in the manner of a musical scale.
Aristotle misrepresented the ideas concerning Music, Harmonics, Geometry as well as Astronomy, which Plato described in the Epinomis to be the fount of all knowledge.
Kepler\'s book contradicts Aristotle, who held science back for centuries because of his witting fraud upon the discoveries of Pythagoras, Thales, et al.
Yet he combined his search for physical causes with a vision of the World as a manifestation of divine harmony.
Rejecting the view of those who regarded astronomical hypotheses as mathematical fictions, Kepler sought to derive the true motions of the planets from physical causes.
Kepler is remembered today chiefly for the 3 laws of planetary motion known after him.
The same mental processes which make humans unique must be coherent with the principles of creation and development of the universe as a whole.
By rejecting empiricism and sense certainty, Kepler used his mental instruments, geometry and music, to investigate the Harmony which orders all fundamental physical processes.
The Harmony of the World, by Johannes Kepler, is not only a seminal work in the history of astronomy, but a case study in the creative process of discovery
