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This volume deals with the developments and issues of modernizing Taiwan, especially in the field of economic policy, democratization and social policy. It includes articles which are intended to provide the reader with the chance to understand modern Taiwanese society from economic, political and societal perspectives. A subsidiary aim of the book is to throw light on the reasons for social development in Taiwan, primarily in the field of social policy. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Foreword by David Koch of NASA's Kepler Mission

Isaac Newton said that if he had seen farther than others, it was because he was standing on the shoulders of giants: Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, and Johannes Kepler. James A. Connor focuses on one of those giants in his fascinating and largely untold story of the "Protestant Galileo," Johannes Kepler. Set against the backdrop of the witchcraft trial of his mother, Kepler's Witch vividly brings to life the tidal forces of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, submerging us into these turbulent times, revealing not only the surprisingly spiritual nature of early modern science, but Kepler's role as a neglected hero of conscience.

The doorway into Kepler's life and times begins with the sensational witchcraft trial of his elderly mother, Katharina, an eccentric woman who, like Kepler, was too smart for the world she lived in. The story is filled with crooked judges, sadistic bailiffs, and nasty neighbors bent on the destruction of this single, half-mad old woman. Using never-before translated transcripts of the trial, Connor explains that witches in the seventeenth century were the terrorists of their day. Tragically, thousands of people -- mostly women -- had gone to the stake by the time of Katharina Kepler's trial.

Johannes Kepler's life thus became a pilgrimage, a spiritual journey into the modern world through disease and horrible injustice on the eve of Europe's terrible and bloody Thirty Years' War. Kepler was concerned with more than scientific discoveries and achievement -- he fought for peace and reconciliation between the Christian churches, even when it nearly cost him his life. Exiled twice by Catholic princes and excommunicated by his fellow Lutherans, he was unbowed in his scientific and moral vision.

Besides the witchcraft trial records and testimonies, Connor has translated many of Kepler's diary entries and correspondence into English for the first time. With a great respect for the history of these times and the life of this man, Connor's unforgettable story illuminates Kepler, a man of science, as well as Kepler, a man of uncommon faith and courage. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Kepler's Witch
The last biography of Kepler I read was Koestler's _The Watershed_ and while it was fascinating it did not give me the background in the theology and the history of the period that Connor's book did.The strongest point of _Kepler's Witch_ is the insight into the religious motives behind Kepler's work and the difficulty Kepler had with the Lutheran religious authorities.Connor believes it was, in part, his refusal to take sides on the increasingly polarized religious positions of the Lutherans and Roman Catholics leading up to the Thirty Years War that led to the prosecution of his mother for witchcraft.

Kepler lived in difficult times.Connor evokes this setting well.Amidst political and theological intrigue, diseases that killed half his children before adulthood, open warfare that forced him to move from city to city, and perpetual financial hardship he still believed in the harmony of the cosmos and that led him to his scientific discoveries.

The other reviewers are correct though that the structure of the book is sometimes annoying.Each chapter opens with a long translation of a letter by Kepler.This is good.However in the chapter that follows we get the history leading up to and including events in the letter, so Connor often quotes parts of the letter back as if it was the first time the reader has heard of the events.Likewise the chapters cover chronologically overlapping material, so Connor sometime repeats verbatim descriptions of the events recounted in an earlier chapter though the context is different.The effect is jarring -- like watching a movie and you realize you are hearing the same dialogue twice.These were not major flaws, but one wonders if an editor ought to intervened and smoothed this out.

Overall, the book does work despite some minor repetitiveness.It gave me a much better understanding of the times Kepler lived in and that alone makes the book essential reading.

Holy Geometry
In addition to being one of history's most influential scientists, Johannes Kepler was also a man of faith, and that is mostly the focus of this religiously focused biography. When Kepler was revolutionizing astronomy and mathematics, he also had to navigate through times of great religious strife in Europe. Here James Connor focuses on the challenges faced by Kepler as a devout Lutheran in a land of Catholics, while fighting to maintain his influence and connections during the upheavals of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. An associated story here (though you might think it was the main story because of the book's title) was the trial of Kepler's mother for witchcraft, and we learn more about how trumped-up and unjust charges of diabolical arts were used during those times to get rid of uppity or unpopular women. James Connor does a good all-around job of describing the political and religious history of the times in which Kepler lived.

However, there are problems with the construction of this book, as Connor's pacing and coverage are very awkward. Connor's writing style, in which he applies different levels of importance to different events, results in historical coverage that is out of chronological order and occasionally repetitive. When Connor goes into historical explanations, Kepler himself disappears from sizeable chunks of the book, while the story of his mother's witchcraft trial feels tacked on and is not successfully integrated with the larger narrative. Meanwhile, Connor writes this book from a religious point of view, which brings a fresh new light to Kepler's life story, and Connor himself has a good eye for science. However, Connor's attempts to bring out the religious influences on Kepler's scientific achievements seem forced and even reactionary. To his credit, Connor is definitely not anti-science, but in this book it seems like he couldn't stop himself from writing for anti-intellectual religious adherents, leading to an awkward mix of faith and science. This damages the effectiveness of this particular biography of Johannes Kepler, who was both a theologian and a scientist, but was more noteworthy for the latter. [~doomsdayer520~]

A small world, but a big cosmos.
The critic who says Conner is telling two stories at once is right: this is a "life and times" biography.That is, the author finds the life of Johannes Kepler and the polarized, tumultuous, superstitious, expanding world he lived in equally fascinating.He made both subjects interesting for me, too.And unlike some readers, I think he joined them in a well-written, sometimes impish, sometimes melancholy, and always intelligent story.

Conner spices the narrative pot with pungent observations and quotes: "(Kepler's mother) was a little mad, but only a little, which was far more dangerous than being (like her rival) an abortionist and prostitute." "Kepler argued that astronomy is natural to humanity, as natural as singing is to songbirds."
"The harmonies were arranged in phalanxes of ever more complicated patterns coalescing into a great cosmic symphony, a music so profound that it harrowed the heart and set fire to the soul."Kepler: "'It hurts my heart that these three great blocs have ripped at the truth so terribly that I am left collecting it piece by piece, wherever I can find them . . . God already has rewarded our warring Germany with lamentation.'"

Kepler was born a Lutheran and a "catholic" Christian, and remained faithful all his life.Yet the Lutheran church excommunicated him, and the Catholics chased his family from town to town.The 16th Century being the time for witch trials as well as science (see Stark, For the Glory of God, for helpful ideas about how the various goings on in Kepler's time related to Christianity), Kepler's mother was tried as a witch, while he set science on a course to the stars.Conner tells both stories well and I think connects them well too.

It is obvious Conner likes and respects his subject.Kepler was a scientific genius, and more, a kind and sensible Christian in a world where religious professionals forgot the virtue their Lord said was the soul of the Law and the Prophets."My conscience commands me to love an enemy and not harm him . . . I ought to be an example of moderation and mildness for my enemy . . . then at last may God send us the dear desired peace."Growing up in a rather harsh and loveless home, a settled family life collateral damage to every new fad in social perversity, he managed to love God and man, and cultivate a cheerful curiosity at the world and our mysterious fellow-travelers that dance across the night sky.AsChesterton said of another Medieval figure (Francis?), Kepler lived in a small world, but a big cosmos.

Where's the narrative thread?
I learned a lot of information about Kepler, Kepler's family, the thirty-years war, and the counter-reformation. The writer's prose was very readable; however, the book lacked cohesion. The book had very little information concerning with Kepler developing his scientific theories and his search for harmony. The author jumped off on bunny trails for scores of pages without mentioning Kepler. He would write about the thirty years war and the political machinations that led up to it. He would then return to the witch trial of Kepler's mother. He would then breifly spend a little time on Kepler developing his theories and how it relates to his faith. The book seemed repetitious at times. Maybe bacause the witch trial went on for so long, but the book returns again and again to that same topic and how worried and frantic Kepler was.

I had a hard time finishing it. The book was a hard read. At the end, I had a hard time placingall the pieces together. The topic was fascinating and the author did provide some interesting tidbits, but the narrative thread was hard to follow.

A modern tale 400 years ago
This book is about intolerance, religious intolerance and how it led inevitably to war and small town petty intolerance and how it led to smear campaigns culminating in the witch trial of Kepler's mother.It's about good old boy networks and injustice.It's also a Hollywood movie script where a person with overwhelming odds against him does great things, but not without lots of personal tragedies all around him.It's also good history as I didn't know much about the 30 yr. war or the relationship of some scientific giants like Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and Newton. ... Read more

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This interdisciplinary study considers theology and the beginnings of modern science at the University of Tubingen in the time of Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). The author casts light upon the origins of modern scientific method by examining the relationship between theology, astronomy and dialectics at the university in the work of Kepler's teachers. Studies of Kepler generally treat him as a precursor of the modern scientist - the influences upon him are identified as Platonist or Pythagorean and his theological interests have often been ignored, or considered as a mystical aberration unworthy of in-depth treatment. This text attempts to place Kepler's work in the wider tradition of mainstream 16th-century thought. It portrays and analyzes the influences and ideas which permeated the life of the university in Tubingen in the second half of the 16th century and places them in relationship to the theology of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon. The study pays particular attention to the use of theological concepts, astronomical observations, logical demonstrations and the categories of physics, and to the interplay between them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

More Tübingen and theology than Kepler and mathematics
For someone interested in Kepler this is an interesting book, although the emphasis is more on Tübingen and theology than on Kepler and mathematics.

The human mind is created to do mathematics. According to Melanchthon, the atomistic doctrines of creation by chance "wage war against human nature, which was clearly founded to understand divine things" (p. 76); astronomical observations are as natural to a human being as "swimming to a fish or singing to a nightingale" (p. 85). Kepler elaborates: "Rather, as we do not ask what hope or gain makes a little bird warble, since we know that it takes delight in singing because it is for that very singing that a bird was made, so there is no need to ask why the human mind undertakes such toil in seeking out these secrets of the heavens" (p. 207).

The purpose of scientific study is therefore twofold. (1) "inflaming their souls with love and enthusiasm for the truth and rousing them to understanding of the noblest things" (Melanchthon, p. 73). "[T]he reason why there is such a great variety of things, and treasuries so well concealed in the fabric of the heavens, is so that fresh nourishment should never be lacking for the human mind, and it ... should have in this universe an inexhaustible workshop in which to busy itself" (Kepler, p. 208). (2) Astronomers are "priests of the book of nature" (Kepler, p. 206n3). The existence of God follows from the universe's "beauty, order, and all things which have been founded for settled purposes" (Heerbrand, p. 137). "God desired that knowledge of the wonderful courses and powers should lead us towards knowledge of the divine" (Melanchthon, p. 76).

Another influence is of course Maestlin who proved by parallax that the 1572 nova was a star (p. 173) and that comets are "in the height of the aether" (p. 179).

"Where is Platonism? Where, for that matter, is Neoplatonism, or the Hermetic trends which are to be found in Kepler's thought? They seem not to have been at all current in Tübingen's university circles." (pp. 221-222) ... Read more