Original scientific paper

Dudić’s interpretation of comets

IVANA SKUHALA KARASMAN ; Institut za filozofiju, Zagreb, Hrvatska

Abstract

This article, based on Dudić’s treatise De cometarum significatione commentariolus / A short treatese on the significance of comets (1579), deliberates on Dudić’s understanding of the appearance of the comet in 1577, of comets’ influence on man and, finally, Dudić’s own understanding of man. Dudić’s understanding of comets is considered in the context of the changes transpiring in Renaissance astronomy, human understanding of the cosmos. In this connection the appearances of
comets are linked to man and to potential influences they may have on terrestrial events, with the interpretations of the influences ranging from understandings that view comets as active causes of developments on Earth, those that regard comets as signs, to those that consider them celestial phenomena unrelated to the developments transpiring on Earth. In this process Dudić formed his own understanding of relations between comets and man, based on the recognition of the particularity of the sphere of human activity on understanding comets as natural phaenomena and on a method reminiscent of present-day “statistics” which uses human experience in order to verify the concurrence of celestial phenomena with developments on earth. Dudić finally concludes that there is no causal connection between comets and developments on Earth and in consequence reestablishes free will as a basis of human action.

Keywords

Andrija (Andrew) Dudić; comets; Renaissance astronomy

Hrčak ID:

52170

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/52170

Publication date:

10.2.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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