Kepler was a German astronomer, mathematician, and natural philosopher. He famously founded his three laws of planetary motion among other astronomical and mathematical discoveries that were very important far after his time. Kepler also intertwined his theological beliefs into his work in astronomy, considering God’s divine nature as being responsible for the harmonious motions in which the planets move. As much as he focuses on the hard mathematics of astronomy, he also speculates philosophically on the universe and how God fits into the picture of the universe as a whole.
“The History of Johannes Kepler” by NASA
Introductory Video to Johannes Kepler
Why Johannes Kepler?
Johannes Kepler is definitely an interesting philosopher in that he conjoins his findings from observation and empirical data about the universe with his own theological ideas about the universe as it relates to God. A large majority of his achievements center around his discoveries about planetary motion and the solar system as a whole, which revolutionized the science of astronomy. Much of what we know today about astronomy and the physics which is apart of it stems from the Kepler’s discoveries regarding planetary motion. Many other scientists and philosophers like Isaac Newton used Kepler’s first law to help support his theory of gravity, which of course was also revolutionary. Although the truths Kepler found were largely scientific and empirically based, they work in tandem with his religious ideas to form Kepler’s philosophy, which is especially apparent in his findings of the harmonic relationship at the cosmological level.