J. R. R avetz
THE CYCLE O F SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT
Science is a social activity, an d w e w ill be ab le to w rite its h istory o nly w hen we can describe th e in teractio n of a scientist’s life w ork w ith th e activities of th e scientific com m unity, a n d also th e relation s of th e scientific com m unity 'with society a t large. In o rd er to provide cate gories for describing these interactions, I have Sketched a cycle of scien tific achievem ent, w hich I illu stra te b y th e exam ple of th e c a re e r of Copernicus.
We set th e stage w ith social a n d philosophical background, in te r p reted th ro u g h biography of th e individual. In th is case, we cite th e progressive conditions in fifteen th -cen tu ry P dland, th e excellence of the Jagellonian U niversity a t Craoow, a n d Copernicus’s fam ily connec tions w ith th e bourgeoisie, th e C hurch, and w ith H um anist cu ltu re. N ex t comes th e in te rn al scientific tradition, a n d th e condition and problem s of th e relev an t science a t th e time. F or th is w e have th e re-creatio n of astronom ical science, above th e existing level of sem i-com petent tech nique, by P eurbach a n d Regiomontanps. Also, we notice th e developm ent of oth er elem ents of th e stru c tu re of a fu lly developed scientific com m unity, in p articu la r th e establishm ent of a teaching trad itio n a t a few places including Cracow.
Now we recon struct th e prob 1 em-situatiom seen b y Copernicus, a n d his in itial insights. I believe th a t th e k e y problem s w ere those of fu n dam ental reference-fram es of observational astronom y (definition of th e year, in terp re ta tio n of changes in ste lla r longitudes), a n d th e basic physical s tru c tu re of th e heavens. Investigation of these tw o problem s could lead to a conviction of the e a rth ’s d iu rn al ro tatio n and an n u al revolution as necessary facts for a coherent science of th e heavens.
Following th is brief and inten siv e phase oomes: a long p erio d of consolidation, sustained by th e personal identification of th e scholar w ith 'his discovery. The Com mentariolus dates from v e ry early in th is phase, perhaps even 'before Copernicus le ft Cracow. In Ita ly Copernicus ORGANON; 1964
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could m aster the advanced astronom ical technique, and the classical sources, necessary for a solid foundation to a complete new system of astronom y. In th e la te r period of consolidation comes th e stru g g le w ith “contradictions” — problem s too deep to be solved b y o rd in ary technical means. The 'contradictions of “theory and practice” ap pear in th e case of Copernicus as th e failure of successive sets of inform ation to stabilise, so th a t up to the very end he was forced to revise th e fundam ental p ara m eters in a system w hich he had hoped would be valid for centuries to come. More serious are th e “in tern al” contradictions; in this case, the failure of his developed astronom ical system to provide conclusive proof of th e tru th of his initial insight of the motions of the earth.
O ut of th is comes th e m a tu re achievem ent, w hose content necessarily reflects th e struggles of th e phase of consolidation m ore th a n th e sim ple insights of th e first heroic period. The stru c tu re an d content of th e De Revolutionibus are significantly different from those of the Almagest; th is comes p a rtly from a n organisation of th e problem s P tolem y chose to ignore b u t which becam e pressing in th e M edieval period, an d p a rtly from refinem ents discovered by C opernicus him self.
We conclude th e cycle w ith a discussion of th e successes and failures of th e endeavours of th e scholar, an d w ith an analysis of his “sty le of w ork”. F in ally w e stu d y th e new trad itio n s coming o u t of th e w ork. We keep in m ind th e changes in th e condition of th e science during th e life of our object, and th e fu rth e r changes w hich m ake later generations see th e w ork in term s of th e ir own situation and problems.
Through such a n analysis, w e can sholw how several supposed “paradoxes” in th e w ork of C opernicus arise from attem pts to describe a complex historical process as a single event. A
