Kepler = Koestler: On Empathy and Genre in the History of the Sciences

Abstract

This essay looks at the roles in the history of the sciences of empathetic approaches to past authors. It focuses on the ways in which Arthur Koestler and other historians have engaged with Kepler and his works, and in particular with his Astronomia nova. I argue that here, as with many other historical sources, close attention to the process of composition and conventions of genre is crucial for adequate interpretation.