Regards sur la nature : place de l’observation dans les textes astronomiques latins

Abstract

In antiquity, astronomical knowledge came essentially from philosophy, mathematics and logic. One can then question the role given to the observation of phenomena. To answer this question, we chose to analyze some of the demonstrations presented in Latin astronomical texts: the second book of Natural History by Pliny the Elder, the Astronomica by Manilius, the Commentary on Plato’s Timeus by Calcidius, the Commentary on the Dream of Scipio by Macrobius and the book VIII of the Marriage of Philology and Mercury by Martianus Capella.

Keywords

• observation
• astronomy
• demonstration
• induction
• deduction