Johannas Kepler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Johannas Kepler - Essay Example Kepler's epistemology was profoundly concerned with astronomical practice, with methodological issues, and with the results of their application to the serious problems of late-renaissance astronomy. Kepler not only was able to ask questions in a way that no one had before asked, but he was able to provide answers to those questions that even now are worthy of continued study. From this perspective, Kepler was less the last great cosmologist of the classical tradition that includes Ptolemy and Copernicus; more was he the first cosmologist of the modern tradition. In the middle of the sixteenth century, fourteen centuries after the death of Ptolemy (c. A.D. 100-170), his Almagest still dominated all of astronomy. With the renaissance of interest in the works of the ancients, the relevance of the Ptolemy's great work had not only not diminished, but was on the increase (van Helden, 42). But by the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth the Ptolemaic system was facing serious challenges. The subsequent revolutionary transformation from the geocentric to the heliocentric worldview has been almost universally attributed to the works of Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543). Copernican astronomy is best known for the radical proposition that the Earth is in motion about the Sun rather than vice versa. Copernican heliocentrism emerged from a profound dissatisfaction with the fundamental principles upon which Ptolemy had based his system of the heavens. In particular, the Ptolemaic assumption of the punctum equans Copernicus vie wed as contrary to the admissible explanations for the true motions of the planets. The punctum equans, or equant point, is an eccentric point about which the planet is supposed to subtend a uniform angular speed. Historically, published in 1956, Johannes Kepler's first and evidently most influencial astronomical work Mysterium Cosmographicum was the first major treatise after Copernicus' De revolutionibus to argue for heliocentrism (Gingerich, 347). Although Kepler has been defending the theory of Copernicus from the very beginning, with Mysterium Cosmographicum scientist provided a new kind of theory of the planets. His theory of the planets has been classified as new because it was the product of the first explicit and thorough attempt to consistently unify the epistemological structures of the hitherto divergent sciences of astronomy and physics (Koyre, 119). Kepler's objective in Mysterium Cosmographicum was nothing less than the development of a theory of the absolute structur e of the world system. Kepler was certainly not the first to attempt to provide a general cosmographic account of the planets, that is, an account that seeks to explain the proportions of the universe as a whole. Both Ptolemy's and Copernicus' respective theories each maintain not only an ordering of the planetary orbs, but contain estimates of the ratios of their dimensions. But in the theory of Ptolemy these estimates are empirically underdetermined because of the independence of each planetary hypothesis, and in the theory of Copernicus, the estimates are strictly a posteriori consequences of the heliocentric hypothesis and, because of their reliance on Ptolemaic observations and mathematical constructions, no better corroborated

Literature Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Literature Comparison - Essay Example The charismatic leader must base his or her aura and exceptional 'gifts' on the emotional appeal of their followers. The charismatic leader can see a clear vision and stimulates the follower to follow it and become just as elevated as the leader. Negative aspects of the charismatic leader may include streaks of narcissism, self-aggrandizement, and a forced or contrived distance from followers, all in the efforts of maintaining hero status. Miller contrasts the charismatic leader with the transformational, or transforming leader as expounded by Burns, but importantly expanded with Boulding's theory of love. Burns theory defines the transformational leader as one who basically seeks to convert followers into leaders and into moral agents. Boulding’s identifies love as a type of power. There is no power outside of human valuation. Power integrates human valuation within organizations, and 'the most fundamental form of integrative power is the power of love' (p, 184) There is no c ompetitive, opposing, or abusive force in Boulding's concept of power. Merged into Burn’s view, love becomes the integrator and the enabling force allowing the transforming leader to empower the follower by letting them have and pursue their own vision, and to enable a dimension of mutual interaction where both leader and follower are being transformed. The leader is able to see that the followers’ visions can align with that of the organization in a cooperative and sharing way. Leaders in this way learn from followers just as followers learn from leaders. Whereas the charismatic leader must seek agreement and commitment from followers as to a certain vision he or she is credited with having, the transforming leader offers a context for sharing and participation in the process of vision making. Weiner’s shapes a picture of the transformational leader as one who is more combative and confrontational. Importantly it is based on the theories of educator Paulo Freir e. Freire pursued his theories from a personal knowledge of poverty and hunger and essentially sought to make structural changes in the way education was being delivered to the poor. Weiner portrays the leader as doing â€Å"oppositional work† but working within the cultural hegemony as theorized by Antonio Gramsci. Gramsi refined Marxism to recognize that there was a civil society that was accepted by most people. This society had values and beliefs that formed a hegemony. Gramsi believed that this cultural hegemony could be changed from the inside, gradually, without a violent overthrow. This was basically Friere’s belief, that he could educate the poor and that they themselves could bring structural change upon society. Weiner writes as if teachers are continuously battling neoliberal and right wing ideology. But he accepts Freire’s message as one of social justice and democracy. Freire dedicated his life to serving the poor. Through his example Weiner is abl e to define the transformational leader as an activist one who is dedicated to change but who, importantly, works within the â€Å"dominant structures of power and authority† to serve the poor (p. 91). Today we can ask ourselves what kinds of leaders are appropriate in a world that has just experienced a great economic recession and the wants and needs of the poor and have-nots have become more sharp and bare? Miller noted the charismatic corporation heads who seem to continuously highlight themselves today,