Geocentrism places the Earth as the center of the universe.
Geocentrism is an ancient theory of astronomy that held that the planet Earth was the center of the universe . The Greek mathematician and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy was its main promoter in the 2nd century .
According to the foundations of geocentrism, the sun and the rest of the stars revolve around the Earth . This was the most accepted astronomical theory until the 16th century , when heliocentrism (which places the sun in the center) began to prevail thanks to the contributions of Nicholas Copernicus . Today, science has shown that the Earth does indeed revolve around the sun , although there are still people who believe in geocentrism.
Geocentrism throughout history
The theory of geocentrism was present in many ancient civilizations. One of the most notable examples occurred in Babylon , an ancient city located in Lower Mesopotamia (an area also known as Lower Mesopotamia ), located between the city's own settlement and the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates. two important rivers. The geocentric view of the universe that predominated in Babylon was completed in the second century with the work of Claudius Ptolemy.
Several centuries before Christ , thinkers like Anaximander already postulated the geocentric theory; in this case, defining the planet as a cylinder that floated in the center of the universe. At that time, other philosophers considered that the Earth was a sphere, but not located in the center. The combination of both positions led to the development of geocentrism.
This means that geocentrism was already widely accepted in the philosophy and astronomy of Ancient Greece . In this framework we must talk about pre-Socratic philosophy , that is, the period that began with the birth of Greek philosophy itself and concluded with the manifestations that have been influenced by the thought of Socrates . Throughout that time, to complement the idea of the Earth in the shape of a cylinder, it was believed that the other planets, the Moon and the Sun, were holes in wheels imperceptible to the eye, which surrounded our planet, and that through them people could see the flames of a hidden fire .
Claudius Ptolemy is pointed out as the most relevant promoter of geocentrism.
The contributions of Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and Ptolemy
The vision of the Earth as a sphere belonged to the followers of the philosophical and religious movement created by Pythagoras of Samos , who identify themselves with the name Pythagoreans . According to them, our planet was not at the center of the universe , but moved around an invisible fire. As mentioned above, there came a time in history when these two ideas merged.
Plato y Aristotle, uno de sus discípulos, entre otros pensadores, difundieron el geocentrismo en el siglo IV antes de Cristo, tanto de forma oral como escrita. Ptolomeo continuó su trabajo de investigación con su obra titulada "The Almagest", y realizó diversas correcciones, logrando que su model fuera aceptado por la mayoría de los astrónomos. Por eso empezó a asociarse el Ptolemaic model con el modelo geocéntrico en general.
In "The Almagest", whose original name is in Arabic and translates as "mathematical composition", we find the most extensive catalog of stars from antiquity. It was used by the Arabs and later by Europeans until the Middle Ages, as it contains a considerable volume of information, including the relative movement of the planets and stars, as well as the description of the geocentric system.
Geocentrism news
Beyond what is indicated by current science , geocentrism remains in certain areas. For the creation of planetariums or the study of stars that are outside the solar system , geocentrism is still valid since it simplifies the work.
Some religious fanatics , on the other hand, carry out a literal interpretation of the sacred books and still place the Earth at the center of the universe.