Tuesday, November 8, 2016, in the Linda Hall Library Auditorium. Presented by Dr. William B. Ashworth, Jr., Associate Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Consultant for the History of Science at the Linda Hall Library. A three-part course co-sponsored by the Linda Hall Library and the UMKC Carolyn Benton Cockefair Chair. About the course: The period from 1600 to 1650 saw significant changes in our understanding of the world. In the previous century, the universe was earth-centered, the heavens were perfect, moving bodies naturally came to rest, and all scientific authority lay in the writings of ancient philosophers. After 1650, the earth became a planet, the universe was possibly infinite, moving bodies possessed inertia, and the doctrines of Aristotle and Plato had yielded to the discoveries and methods of persons like Galileo and Descartes. In three class sessions, we will look at what happened, and why. There will be plenty of images, as usual, and an opportunity to see the original editions of the works of Galileo, Kepler, and everyone else we discuss, in the History of Science Collection of the Linda Hall Library.

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