Giordano Bruno · Philosophy

The Infinite Universe and Innumerable Worlds

Bruno’s boldest stroke: he shattered the outermost sphere of the closed medieval cosmos and declared space infinite, sprinkled with innumerable suns and worlds, a universe with no wall, no edge, and no centre at all.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Bruno broke the finite, sphere-bounded cosmos of Aristotle and Ptolemy and argued for an infinite universe containing innumerable suns and worlds, with no edge and no centre. Explain why he thought a bounded universe was impossible, and what an edgeless cosmos does to the idea of a centre.

Leads to Lucretius.

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