| It is generally recognized that during the span of time from the mid-15 th to mid-17th centuries, European cosmology underwent a fundamental change. The new idea of the universe was theorized as substanceless extension, or space, infinite and homogeneous but divisible into any number of finite, absolute spaces by the imposition of an abstract grid. This action has been characterized as the 'geometrization of space,' and it resulted in a deep philosophical shift. This thesis develops a general chronology and context for the hypothesis that cartographic representation provided a perceptual pre-requisite for the new cosmological ideas. The key idea behind this proposition is that the mapping model explicated in the Geographia by Claudius Ptolemy took Euclidean geometry as its basic principle, and that this led to the adoption of Euclidean geometry as the basis for what was eventually known as 'Newtonian' cosmology. The thesis therefore develops three parallel thematic histories---cosmological ideas, geometry, and cartography---and explores and surmises connections between them. |
