Kepler's Theology of Astronomy

The work that kepler produced in response to orisus turns out to be something of a philosophical tour de force. He took the opportunity to defend a realist approach to astronomy against instrumentalism adopted by osianda and proponents of the wittenberg interpretation. In his telling, this unwise depart from purely mathematical astronomical constructions began around the time of plato and aristotle. Kepler was thus drawn into a dispute over the history of astronomy as well as its proper method.