Global Visions and the Establishment of Theories of the Earth

Abstract

During the 17th century, important conventions for the visual representation of the Earth as a whole were established by writers of Theories of the Earth. This essay examines how the emergence of visual representations contributed to the establishment of a new print tradition of multicontextual discourse and critical debate. Four vignettes contrast varying uses of global depictions: the incidental global depictions and mathematical vision of Johannes Kepler; the cosmogonic sections and chemical vision of Robert Fludd; the geogonic sections and mechanical vision of René Descartes; and the global views and classical vision of Thomas Burnet. The continuities of visual conventions and the contrasts of disciplinary perspectives and local contexts observed in these vignettes conforms well to the characterization of Theories of the Earth as an interdisciplinary print tradition.

The idiom of a six day creation and global depictions in Theories of the Earth

“…Fludd's rich use of cosmogonic sections established important visual conventions for subsequent representations of the Earth, including the quarter section and double hemisections explored by Magruder (2006). That paper did not emphasize Fludd's hexameral orientation, however, although it was of central importance to his use of images.…”

“…In a striking rotating figure, Descartes combined four geogonic sections into one diagram (Fig. 5a;Magruder 2006). Descartes regarded the settling out of the planetary layers to this point as a gradual process, but in Question 39 he asserted that it would not have required a long time.…”

“…In a similar way, shared biblical idiom provided a linguistic common ground for the exchange and comparative assessment of rival theories. This paper and Magruder (2006) show how biblical idiom and global depictions each facilitated the establishment of 17th-century Theories of the Earth as a contested print tradition. The relations between early Theories of the Earth and biblical idiom are rich and complex.…”

“…The earlier paper (Magruder 2006) compared the global depictions of Johann Kepler (1571-1630), Robert Fludd (1574-1637, René Descartes (1596-1650 and Thomas Burnet (c. 1635-1715, examining their varied disciplinary and technical contexts, their diverse natural philosophies, and the different roles played by images in their works (see Table 1). This paper will superimpose upon that analysis a consideration of biblical idiom (see Table 1, rightmost column).…”

“…This paper explores the relations between biblical idiom and global depictions in 17th-century Theories of the Earth as a sequel to an earlier examination of the development of the global depictions (Magruder 2006). Shared conventions for visual representations provided a common ground for the exchange of novel ideas.…”