Nicholas of Cusa and Georg Peurbach Term Paper by Nicky
A review of Nicholas of Cusa's concept of infinity and Georg Peurbach's groundbreaking philosophy on astronomy.
# 151446
| 1,733 words
| 3 sources
| APA
| 2012
| 
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Description:
The paper discusses the concept of infinity before Nicholas von Cusa introduced his theories and then outlines Cusa's life and his main philosophies on the infinite. The paper looks at the lifetime and progress of Georg Peurbach in the field of astronomy and shows how the 15th century was a time of pioneering thought regarding astrology and the sciences.
Outline:
The Infinite Before Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa and the Infinite
Georg Peurbach and the Planets
Conclusion
Outline:
The Infinite Before Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa and the Infinite
Georg Peurbach and the Planets
Conclusion
From the Paper:
"While Nicholas von Cusa did groundbreaking work on the concept of infinity, his was not the first philosophy to introduce it to the world. According to McFarlane (2004), infinity as a concept in the West first appeared with Anaximander of Miletus, who suggested that all things operate upon the principle of the limitless, which was referred to as the "not-limited." By striving towards the not-limited, all opposites are reconciled, and conflict eliminated."Philosophers such as Pythagoras however regarded the limitless as abhorrent, as he based all concepts of beauty upon the comprehensible, which can be explicated by number. The infinite has no number, and can therefore be neither conceptualized nor understood. As such, this principle cannot provide any derivation of beauty and should therefore not form part of the philosophy of the cosmos. For Pythagoras, all things were constituted by numbers.
"This philosophy was however soon proved to be invalid in itself, or at least incomplete, as the principles of geometry and arithmetic began to distinguish themselves from each other. The necessity for further thought on the subject was subsequently addressed by philosophers such as Zeno and later by Plato, upon whose work Nicholas of Cusa based much of his thought and writing."
Sample of Sources Used:
- McFarlane, Thomas J. (2004). Nicholas of Cusa and the Infinite. http://www.integralscience.org/cusa.html
- O'Connor, JJ & Robertson, EF (2006). Georg Peurbach. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Peurbach.html
- O'Connor, JJ & Robertson, EF (1996). Nicolas of Cusa. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Cusa.html
Cite this Term Paper:
APA Format
Nicholas of Cusa and Georg Peurbach (2012, June 11)
Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/term-paper/nicholas-of-cusa-and-georg-peurbach-151446/
MLA Format
"Nicholas of Cusa and Georg Peurbach" 11 June 2012.
Web. 23 March. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/term-paper/nicholas-of-cusa-and-georg-peurbach-151446/>