The Observational Basis for Kant's Cosmogony : A Critical Analysis

Hoskin M. A. , “The cosmology of Thomas Wright of Durham”, Journal of the history of astronomy , i (1970), 44–52.

Immanuel Kant , Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels : Translated by Hastie W. as Kant's Cosmogony (Glasgow, 1900).

To quote a few examples: “If these universes [galaxies] were disk-shaped, they would, when viewed at an oblique angle, appear elliptical. This was, in fact, the shape of many of the nebulous objects visible in telescopes of that time.” ( Walter Sullivan , We are not alone (London, 1965), 26); “In 1742, for example, Maupertuis had described certain ‘nebulous stars’… Kant at once identified these ‘luminous patches’—quite correctly in our modern view—as being other galaxies, strictlycomparable with our own.” ( Toulmin S. Goodtield J. , The discovery of time (London, 1966), 131); “Several nebulae were listed by M. de Maupertuis as long ago as 1742. Kant regarded them as external systems far beyond our Milky Way or Galaxy, and in this he was, of course, correct, even though proof could not then be obtained.” ( Schatzman E. L. , The structure of the universe , trans. Moore P. (London, 1968), 9).

Christopher Wren, in his inaugural address as Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College in 1657, speculated that future astonomers might find “the Galaxy to be myriads of stars; and every nebulous star appearing as if it were the firmament of some other world, at an incomprehensible distance, buried in the vast abyss of intermundious vacuum”. Dr Whitrow, who, in his paper “Kant and the extra-galactic nebulae” ( Quarterly journal of the Royal Astronomical Society , viii (1967), 48–56), first drew attention to this quotation, has described it as possibly the earliest suggestion that the “nebulae” might be extra-galactic stellar systems.

Kant's Cosmogony 64.

Ibid 63.

The term “Weltinseln” first appeared in von Humboldt's Kosmos in 1850: It was rendered (literally) as “world islands” in Otte's translation of 1855. The evolution of this into “island universes” seems to be undocumented.

Hastie , op. cit. 62.

Ibid. .

Ibid 64.

Probably derived from Halley's short paper, “A history of new stars”, Philosophical transactions , xxix (1714–16), 354–6, the “new stars” being “Tycho's star” of 1572, “Kepler's star” of 1604 (both supernovae) and two long-period variables, Mira Ceti and χ, Cygni.

Edmond Halley , “Of nebulae or lucid spots among the Fix'd Stars, Philosophical transactions , xxix (1714–16), 390–2. Derham referred to Halley as “my sagacious friend Dr Halley” in the Preface to his Astro-theology.

William Derham , “Observations of the appearances among the Fix'd Stars, called Nebulous Stars”, Philosophical transactions , xxxviii (1733–34), 70–4.

De Maupertuis P. L. M. , “Discours sur les différentes figures des astres…”, Memoires de l'-Académie royale des Sciences pour l'année MDCCXXXIV (Paris, 1736), 78–83, para. 38.

Maupertuis went to Lapland in 1736 to take charge of the expedition sent by Louis XV to measure the arc of the meridian in a high latitude. In 1740 he was made a prisoner-of-war by the Austrians after the battle of Mollwitz and returned to Paris after his release. These vicissitudes may explain the hiatus between the first and second editions of Les figures des astres. He was elected president of the Berlin Royal Academy of Sciences in 1746.

Maupertuis , op. cit. , para. 39.

An excellent illustration showing the shape of the nebula was included in Ismael Boulliau Ad astronomos monita duo (Paris, 1667). A recent reproduction of this appeared in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association , lxxviii (1968), 365.

Le Gentil G. J. , “Mémoire sur une étoile nébuleuse nouvellement découverte à côté de celle qui est au dessus de la ceinture d'Andromède”, Memoires de mathematiques et de physique (Savans Étrangers), ii (1755), 137–44.

Lacaille N. L. , “Sur les étoiles nébuleuses du ciel australe”, Mémoires de l'Académie royale des Sciences pour l'année MDCCLV (Paris, 1761), 194–9.

Halley , op. cit. 392.

Derham , op. cit. 70.

Jones Glyn K. , “The search for the nebulae”, parts II, III and IV, Journal of the British Astronomical Association , lxxviii (1967–68), 360–8. 446–54; lxxix (1968–69), 19–25.

de Chéseaux's P. L. catalogue of twenty “truly nebulous stars” was included in a letter written to his grandfather in Paris, who passed it on to Réaumur. The list was read before the Academy of Sciences on 6 August 1746, but was not published. A translation of the full text and an analysis of the catalogue will be found in pp. 105–8 of Jones Glyn K. , “The search for the nebulae”, part V, Journal of the British Astronomical Association , lxxix (1968–69), 105–12.

Messier C. , “Catalogue des nébuleuses et des amas d'étoiles”, Mémoires de l'Académie royale des Sciences pour l'année MDCCLXXI (Paris, 1774), 435–61.

Jones Glyn K. , “The search for the nebulae”, passim.

Hastie , Kant's Cosmogony 64.

Ibid. , 63–4.