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Evolution and transformation of early modern cosmological knowledge: a network study
Maryam Zamani1, Alejandro Tejedor2,3, Malte Vogl4
1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany. zamani@pks.mpg.de.
Scientific Reports
|November 14, 2020
Summary
This study maps the evolution of scientific knowledge in early modern astronomy textbooks using network analysis. It identifies key influential books that transmitted and transformed astronomical understanding across centuries.
Area of Science:
- History of Science
- Network Science
- Early Modern European Astronomy
Background:
- Scientific knowledge transformation is crucial in understanding intellectual history.
- Early modern period (late 15th to mid-17th century) was a pivotal time for astronomical education.
- Textbooks are key sources for tracing the evolution of scientific ideas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolution and transformation of scientific knowledge in astronomy.
- To analyze the structure of knowledge transmission in early modern European universities.
- To identify influential and impactful textbooks within the Sphaera Corpus.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of over 350 historical astronomy textbook editions (Sphaera Corpus).
- Construction of a multiplex network with six layers and an aggregated network.
- Network analysis to identify communities, influential books, and knowledge transmitters.
Main Results:
- Five distinct communities emerged from the network analysis.
- Identification of a small group of books acting as crucial knowledge transmitters.
- Pinpointing highly impactful editions that introduced widely adopted new astronomical knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Network analysis effectively reveals patterns of knowledge evolution and transformation.
- Specific textbooks played a critical role in bridging historical and future astronomical knowledge.
- Empirical content analysis confirmed the identified impactful editions and their influence.
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