Experimentation in cosmology: Intervening on the whole universe.

There are many arguments against the possibility of experimenting on the whole universe. This system seems to be too big to be manipulated, it exists in only one exemplar and its evolution is a non-repeatable process. In this paper, I claim that we can nonetheless talk about experimentation in cosmology if we use Woodward's non-anthropocentric notion of intervention. However, Woodward and other interventionists argued that an intervention was necessarily an exogenous causal process and thus that no intervention on a closed system such as the universe was possible. I discuss their argument and I determine the conditions under which a consistent notion of endogenous intervention on the universe can be defined. Then, I show that there is at least one cosmic phenomenon satisfying these conditions: the photon decoupling. Finally, I draw some conclusions from this analysis regarding a realist approach of cosmology.

On the relativity of magnitudes: Delboeuf's forgotten contribution to the 19th century problem of space.

Faced with the mathematical possibility of non-Euclidean geometries, 19th Century geometers were tasked with the problem of determining which among the possible geometries corresponds to that of our space. In this context, the contribution of the Belgian philosopher-mathematician, Joseph Delboeuf, has been unduly neglected. The aim of this essay is to situate Delboeuf's ideas within the context of the philosophies of geometry of his contemporaries, such as Helmholtz, Russell and Poincaré. We elucidate the central thesis, according to which Euclidean geometry is given special status on the basis of the relativity of magnitudes, we uncover its hidden history and show that it is defensible within the context of the philosophies of geometry of the epoch. Through this discussion, we also develop various ideas that have some relevance to present-day methods in gravitational physics and cosmology.

When Jupiter Meets Saturn: Aby Warburg, Karl Sudhoff, and Astrological Medicine in the Age of Disenchantment.

As disenchantment began to be recognized as a recurring, never-ending process in recent scholarship, "When Jupiter Meets Saturn" argues that Aby Warburg and Karl Sudhoff's debate on Reformation astrological medicine provided a new theory of the emergence of modern science and rationality. Drawing on their encounter and divergence in interwar Germany, especially their curatorial collaboration for the 1911 Internationale Hygiene-Ausstellung, the article shows that Warburg and Sudhoff generated completely opposite historical evaluations of astrological medicine using the very same materials. Approaching history as healers, they developed different ways of seeing from medical epistemologies and brought out entangled temporalities from images.

The Hirschfeld horoscope: Archival trails and urban subcultures.

This article explores what it means to work with decontextualized or mysterious archival traces within collections that already contain obscured provenance. In particular, it compels us to consider what a single object can tell us about the individual, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, and what it can teach us about the larger queer community from which it may have originated. Astrology, the occult, and new forms of spirituality proliferated in Weimar Germany, emerging from the late 19th century psy sciences and evolving within Berlin's urban landscape. The extent to which these occult and alternative pathways held a queer dimension is unknown, but not improbable.

Astrology in the crossfire: the stormy debate after the comet of 1577.

The new star of 1572 and the comet of 1577 had a major impact on the ways in which astronomical research developed in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Behind this gradual but significant change there was an extended epistemological reform which placed increasing emphasis on reason and experience and strove to exclude arguments from Scripture and authority from scientific debate. This paper argues that the humanist debate on astrology after 1577, which was initiated by highly prestigious members of a supraconfessional Republic of Letters, can be seen as an element of this process. Unlike earlier detractors of astrology, these new critics chiefly employed philosophical and scientific arguments concerning the legitimation of the entire art. By analysing a variety of accounts, this paper will reveal how great and complex the stakes in the debate over astrology were. They concerned not only the crucial problem of predestination and God's interventionalism (hence also the possibility of miracles), but also the idea of science, the concept of the human mind, and ultimately the humanist ideal of the virtuous, rational, and responsible citizen.

The Image of Disease in Religious, Medical-Astrological and Social Discourses: Old Polish Literature as an Example of Early Modern European Mentality.

Today, the world is struggling with a coronavirus epidemic. People explain differently the causes and sense of this disease. Old Polish literature about diseases is representative for European thought in the modern era. The problem of the disease appears in old Polish literature in various discourses. The three most important are religious, medical-astrological and social discourse. In this article, I discuss basic paradigms of thinking connected with these discourses and the relationship between them. In the religious discourse, it is God who decides about health and illness. The pathological state of the organism can be both a trial and a punishment for the sinner. The medical and astrological discourse is based on ancient medicine, medieval medicine and astrology. It assumes a close dependence of human health on the balance of the fluids in the body and on the planetary system. The social discourse is dominated by epidemics of infectious diseases. It is a collection of advices for organizing a society during a pandemic.

The bounded heavens: defining the limits of astrological practice in the Iberian indices.

This paper explores the rules for the expurgation of texts of astrology in the Iberian Indices of forbidden books. It addresses the prohibitions put forward in Rule IX of the Index of Trent and the bull Coeli et terrae of Sixtus V, and studies its impact on the rules and their interpretation in the Spanish and Portuguese Indices, in particular, those published in the first decades of the seventeenth century: the Spanish Index librorum prohibitorum et expurgatorum of 1612 and the Portuguese Index auctorum damnatae memoriae of 1624. It shows how these indices offer a more meticulous examination of the prohibitions providing not only more detail regarding the different practices of astrology, but also explicitly accept the doctrine of inclinations of Thomas Aquinas as a central rule to deal with astrological judgments on human behaviour. It also highlights some specific details of the practice of censorship of astrological books by examining case studies of censored Portuguese and Spanish astrological publications. These provide new dimensions and highlight significant differences between the theoretical rules, practical guidelines, and actual restriction of astrological content.

Preludes to the Inquisition: self-censorship in medieval astrological discourse.

Astrologers have exercised self-censorship throughout the centuries in order to fend off criticism. This was largely for religious reasons, but social, political, and ethical motivations also have to be taken into account. This paper explores the main reasons that led astrologers to increase censorship in their writings in the decades that preceded the Church's regulations and offers some examples of this self-imposed restraint in astrological judgements.

Reconstructing Thomist astrology: Robert Bellarmine and the papal bull Coeli et terrae.

Historians have portrayed the papal bull Coeli et terrae (1586) as a significant turning point in the history of the Catholic Church's censorship of astrology. They argue that this bull was intended to prohibit the idea that the stars could naturally incline humans towards future actions, but also had the effect of preventing the discussion of other forms of natural astrology including those useful to medicine, agriculture, and navigation. The bull, therefore, threatened to overturn principles established by Thomas Aquinas, which not only justified long-standing astrological practices, but also informed the Roman Inquisition's attitude towards this art. The promulgation of the bull has been attributed to the 'rigour' of the incumbent pope, Sixtus V. In this article I revise our understanding of this bull in two ways. First, I reconsider the Inquisition's attitude towards astrology in the mid-sixteenth century, arguing that its members promoted a limited form of Thomist astrology that did not permit the doctrine of inclination. Second, using Robert Bellarmine's unpublished lectures discussing Aquinas's views of astrology, I suggest that this attitude was common during the sixteenth century, and may have been caused by the crisis of Renaissance astrology precipitated by the work of Giovanni Pico.

Bartomeu de tresbens, físic i astròleg del rei pere el cerimoniós i l'infant joan: entre el servei a la corona i al municipi / Bartolomeu de tresbens, physician and astrologer in the service of King peter the ceremonious and the infant John: between the service to the Crown and teh municipality

Bartomeu de Tresbens fou un metge, astròleg i filòsof al servei de dos reis de la Corona d'Aragó, Pere IV el Cerimoniós i el seu fill, el duc Joan, futur Joan I el Caçador, entre els anys 1360 i 1375, aproximadament. La seua important obra de contingut astrològic a penes ha estat estudiada, si n'exceptuem el Llibre de les nativitats. De la mateixa manera, la major part de la seua biografia ens és desconeguda. Conservem documents, correspondència fonamentalment, de la seua relació amb la monarquia, però també altres registres que el relacionen amb els municipis de Barcelona i Cervera. Molt particularment, en aquest segon cas, Tresbens va estar temptat per les autoritats municipals per fer de metge i possiblement de mestre. Aquest estudi fa un repàs a la seua biografia però se centra particularment en les negociacions del metge amb Cervera. Una estratègia amb la qual Tresbens sembla que volia asegurar un lloc on passar la resta dels seus dies i amb un sou desmesurat

Bartomeu de Tresbens was a physician, astrologer and philosopher at the service of two kings of the Crown of Aragon, Peter IV the Ceremonious and his son, Duke John, the future John I the Hunter, between 1360 and 1375, approximately. is major work of astrological content has hardly been studied, except for the Llibre de les nativitats (Book of Nativities). Similarly, most of his biography is not known. The documents, which are mainly the correspondence of its relationship with the monarchy, are preserved, but also other records that connect him to the municipalities of Barcelona and Cervera. Particularly in the latter case, Tresbens was tempted by the municipal authorities for being the physician and possibly teacher of the town. This study gives an overview of his biography but it focuses particularly on the negotiations of the doctor with Cervera, in the context of the local medical and health care. This was a strategy which seems Tresbens wanted to make to find a place to spend the rest of his days with an excessive salary

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Henry Bate's Tabule Machlinenses: the earliest astronomical tables by a Latin author.

The known works of the medieval astronomer/astrologer Henry Bate (1246-after 1310) include a set of planetary mean motion tables for the meridian of his Flemish hometown Mechelen. These tables survive in three manuscripts representing two significantly different recensions, but have never been examined for their principles of construction or underlying parameters. Such analysis reveals that Bate employed an unusual value for the length of the tropical year (c.365 1/4 - 1/112 days), which was probably derived by comparing ancient and contemporary observations of the vernal equinox. In addition, there are clear signs that Bate kept revising his parameters for the mean motions of Venus and the three superior planets, none of which can be traced back to earlier sources. Together with some of Bate's preserved statements, these findings support the conclusion that the Tabule Machlinenses were unique among the astronomical tables produced in medieval Latin Christendom for using independently derived parameters that were the result of new observations. Bate's achievement connects him to a wider milieu of astronomers operating in late-thirteenth-century Paris, who put an increased emphasis on observation and the critical examination of received data.

Adapting Traditional Ideas for a New Reality: Cosmographers and Physicians Updating Astrology to Encompass the New World.

This paper aims to demonstrate that astrology was one of the disciplines that most strongly experienced the process that led European natural philosophers, once they were confronted with the nature of the New World, to recognise that previous knowledge was not as complete or absolute as previously assumed, and that the content of several disciplines had to be renewed, both epistemologically and methodologically. This paper focuses on the work by the cosmographer Henrico Martinez, Repertorio de los tiempos (1606), in which he established the astrological influences specific to Mexico, and the work Sitio, naturatezay propiedades de la Ciudad de Mexico (1618) by the physician Diego Cisneros, who refuted Martinez's astrology for Mexico and created his own instructions for the use of astrology in the practice of medicine in New Spain.

INTEREST IN ASTROLOGY AND PHRENOLOGY OVER TWO CENTURIES: A GOOGLE NGRAM STUDY.

The Google Ngram Viewer shows the frequency of words in a large corpus of books over two centuries. In this study, the names of two pseudosciences, astrology and phrenology, were compared. An interesting pattern emerged. While the level of interest in astrology remained relatively stable over the course of two centuries, interest in phrenology rose rapidly in the early 1800s but then declined. Reasons for this pattern are discussed.

Michael Maier--nine newly discovered letters.

The authors provide a transcription, translation, and evaluation of nine newly discovered letters from the alchemist Michael Maier (1568-1622) to Gebhardt Johann von Alvensleben (1576-1631), a noble landholder in the vicinity of Magdeburg. Stemming from the final year of his life, this correspondence casts new light on Maier's biography, detailing his efforts to secure patronage amid the financial crisis of the early Thirty Years' War. While his ill-fated quest to perfect potable gold continued to form the central focus of his patronage suits, Maier also offered his services in several arts that he had condemned in his printed works, namely astrology and "supernatural" magic. Remarks concerning his previously unknown acquaintance with Heinrich Khunrath call for a re-evaluation of Maier's negotiation of the discursive boundaries between Lutheran orthodoxy and Paracelsianism. The letters also reveal Maier's substantial contribution to a work previously ascribed solely to the English alchemist Francis Anthony.

Kepler's theory of force and his medical sources.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) makes extensive use of souls and spiritus in his natural philosophy. Recent studies have highlighted their importance in his accounts of celestial generation and astrology. In this study, I would like to address two pressing issues. The first is Kepler's context. The biological side of his natural philosophy is not naively Aristotelian. Instead, he is up to date with contemporary discussions in medically flavored natural philosophy. I will examine his relationship to Melanchthon's anatomical-theological Liber de anima (1552) and to Jean Femel's very popular Physiologia (1567), two Galenic sources with a noticeable impact on how he understands the functions of life. The other issue that will direct my article is force at a distance. Medical ideas deeply inform Kepler's theories of light and solar force (virtus motrix). It will become clear that they are not a hindrance even to the hardcore of his celestial physics. Instead, he makes use of soul and spiritus in order to develop a fully mathematized dynamics.

William Harvey, Aristotle and astrology.

In this paper I argue that William Harvey believed in a form of astrology. It has long been known that Harvey employed a macrocosm-microcosm analogy and used alchemical terminology in describing how the two types of blood change into one another. This paper then seeks to examine a further aspect of Harvey in relation to the magical tradition. There is an important corollary to this line of thought, however. This is that while Harvey does have a belief in astrology, it is strongly related to Aristotle's views in this area and is quite restricted and attenuated relative to some contemporary beliefs in astrology. This suggests a more general thesis. While Harvey was amenable to ideas which we associate with the natural magic tradition, those ideas had a very broad range of formulation and there was a limit to how far he would accept them. This limit was largely determined by Harvey's adherence to Aristotle's natural philosophy and his Christian beliefs. I argue that this is also the case in relation to Harvey's use of the macrocosm-microcosm analogy and of alchemical terminology, and, as far as we can rely on the evidence, this informs his attitudes towards witches as well. Understanding Harvey's influences and motives here is important in placing him properly in the context of early seventeenth-century thought.

Berengario's drill: origin and inspiration.

Craniotomies are among the oldest neurosurgical procedures, as evidenced by early human skulls discovered with holes in the calvaria. Though devices change, the principles to safely transgress the skull are identical. Modern neurosurgeons regularly use electric power drills in the operating theater; however, nonelectric trephining instruments remain trusted by professionals in certain emergent settings in the rare instance that an electric drill is unavailable. Until the late Middle Ages, innovation in craniotomy instrumentation remained stunted without much documented redesign. Jacopo Berengario da Carpi's (c. 1457-1530 CE) text Tractatus de Fractura Calvae sive Cranei depicts a drill previously unseen in a medical volume. Written in 1518 CE, the book was motivated by defeat over the course of Lorenzo II de'Medici's medical care. Berengario's interchangeable bit with a compound brace ("vertibulum"), known today as the Hudson brace, symbolizes a pivotal device in neurosurgery and medical tool design. This drill permitted surgeons to stock multiple bits, perform the craniotomy faster, and decrease equipment costs during a period of increased incidence of cranial fractures, and thus the need for craniotomies, which was attributable to the introduction of gunpowder. The inspiration stemmed from a school of thought growing within a population of physicians trained as mathematicians, engineers, and astrologers prior to entering the medical profession. Berengario may have been the first to record the use of such a unique drill, but whether he invented this instrument or merely adapted its use for the craniotomy remains clouded.

Casebooks in early modern England: medicine, astrology, and written records.

Casebooks are the richest sources that we have for encounters between early modern medical practitioners and their patients. This article compares astrological and medical records across two centuries, focused on England, and charts developments in the ways in which practitioners kept records and reflected on their practices. Astrologers had a long history of working from particular moments, stellar configurations, and events to general rules. These practices required systematic notation. Physicians increasingly modeled themselves on Hippocrates, recording details of cases as the basis for reasoned expositions of the histories of disease. Medical records, as other scholars have demonstrated, shaped the production of medical knowledge. Instead, this article focuses on the nature of casebooks as artifacts of the medical encounter. It establishes that casebooks were serial records of practice, akin to diaries, testimonials, and registers; identifies extant English casebooks and the practices that led to their production and preservation; and concludes that the processes of writing, ordering, and preserving medical records are as important for understanding the medical encounter as the records themselves.