Kant's Cosmogony - As In His Essay On The Retardation Of The Rotation Of The Earth And His Natural History And Theory Of The Heavens (Paperback)

KANTS COSMOGONY I I AS IN HIS ESSAY ON THE RETARDATION OF THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH AND HIS NATURAL HISTORY AND THEORY OF THE HEAVENS . WITH INTRODUCTION, APPENDICES, AND A PORTRAIT OF THOMAS IVRIGHT OF DURHAM -- I900 -- To suppose a reader thoroughly indifferent to Kant, is to suppose him thoroughly unintellectua1.-DE QUINCEY. Great as the currency of his leading ideas has been, much still remains in his works to be developed by the struggle and collision of future systems and it may be safely pronounced that no philosopher of the eighteenth century, perhaps none since the days of Aristotle, has left behind such monuments of thought, or has so firmly im- posed the task of mastering them on the speculation of all succeeding ages.-JOHN CAIRNS. THE RIGHT HOS. ElERITLS PROFESSOR OF XATC1AI. PHILO50PIIY iS TtjE CSII-EKSITY CIF GLXSGII THIS COOK IS DEDIC-ATED IS lIE OF HIS HIGH .4PPRECIilTIOS OF K-ASTS SCIESTIFIC ORI lSD HIS O-S GRE-T .CHIEI-EJIESTS IS S-ITUII-AL PHILOSOPFIJ- Suunl cuique. r CONTENTS TRANSLATORS INTRODUCTION PAGE I. RELATION OF KANTS SCIENCE TO HIS PHILOSOPHY, X 111. KANTS SCIENTIFIC ENVIRONAIENT AND ANTE- CEDENTS, . . AX IV. KaxPs DISCOVERY OF THE RETARDATION OF THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH, . . nix I. Lord Kelvins Statement of Kants Discovery, lxviii 2. Dr. Reuschle on IantYs Mathematical Calculation, 1 3. Kants Discussion of the Ageing of the Earth, liv. V. KANTS NATURAL HISTORY AND THEORY OF THE HEAVENS, . . IV I. Publication, lv 2. Kants later Summary of the Work, lix 3. Excerpt authorised by Kant, Iviii 4. Spurious Editions in Kants Life-time, lviii 5. Genuine new Editions in Kants Life-time, lix. VI. ICANTS COSJIOGONY IN ITS HISTORICAL RELATIOXS, lx I. Kant and theAncient Cosmogonies, lx 2. ant and Descartes, Ixiii 3. Kant and Sewton, lxiv 4. Kant and Thomas Wright of Durham, lxv 5. Kant and Lambert, lxii 6. Kant and Sir IYilliam Herschel, lxxi 7. Kant and Laplace, lxxiii 8. Kqnt and Cosmic Evo- lution, lsxuv g. The Ultimate Problem left unsolved by Kant, Ixxxviii. V1 I. K-ANTS COSJIOGONY IN RELATION TO RELIGION AND THEOLOGY, . . XC V I I I. KANVS SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT GENERALLY. CRITICISAIS, SUII.RIES, AND TRANSL.TIONS, xcviii CONTENTS TRANSLATIONS I. KANTS PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION Examination of the Question whether the Earth has undergone an Alteration of its Axial Rotation, . 11. KANTS UNIVERSAL NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HEAVENS, . Preface, .. . Survey of the Contents of the whole Work, . AND THEORY FIRST PART. Sketch of a Systematic Constitution among the Fixed Stars, . SECOND PART. Of the First State of Nature, the Formation of the Heavenly Bodies, etc., . Chap. I. The Origin of the Structure of the World, etc., . 11. The different Density of the Planets, etc., . 111. The Eccentricity of the Orbits of the Planets and the Origin of the comet, IV. The Origin of the Moons and the Movements of Planets round their Axes, . . . V. The Origin of Saturns Ring and Calculation of the Diurnal Rotation of this Planet, . VI. Of the Zodiacal Light, . VII. Of the Creation in the whole extent of its Infinitude, Addition A General Theory and History of the Sun, APPENDICES PAGE A. Dieterichs Summary of liants Theory of the Heavens, . 168 B. The Hamburg Account of the Theory of Thomas Wright of Durham, . . 180 C. Professor De Morgans Account of the Speculations of Thomas Wright of Durham, . . 192 TRANSLATORS INTRODUCTION. KANTS Cosmogony never stood so high in theestimation of the scientific world as it does to-day...