The dichotomy between 'practical' and 'theoretical' astronomy in ancient and late antique literature

TL;DR

This paper explores the historical distinction between practical and theoretical astronomy in ancient literature, highlighting its implications for cultural and scientific development and emphasizing the importance of integrated astronomy today.

Contribution

It analyzes ancient texts to reveal the philosophical separation of practical and theoretical astronomy and discusses its potential negative effects on scientific coherence and cultural progress.

Findings

Ancient texts differentiate practical and theoretical astronomy.

Scholars historically struggled to coherently describe star risings and settings.

The paper emphasizes the ongoing importance of integrated astronomy in modern culture.

Abstract

In Plato's dialogues Republic and Laws, the most important disciplines for the best education of the rulers of the city are identified with arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Those disciplines, however, are not intended for practical applications, but to reach the truth and see the form of good. In particular, another dialogue, Epinomis, stresses on the relevance of astronomy itself as main discipline, since it coincides with the study of the gods, that is, the planets and the heaven. According to Epinomis, the wise astronomer does not observe the risings and settings of stars for practical applications such as the farmer calendar, but he studies the orbits of the planets. Therefore, the 'practical' astronomy of farmers appears intrinsically less important than the 'theoretical' one, i.e. the study of the planetary motions. We discuss the possibly far-reaching negative implications of such a specific discrimination. We report some examples taken from Greek and Latin literature illustrating the difficulties of a coherent description of the risings and settings of stars that was attempted by scholars, and should have been of little help for farming. We conclude by pointing out the practical importance of astronomy (intended in a broad sense) even today, and of the dangers of the separation or discrimination of disciplines and sub-disciplines for the culture during the present global economic crisis.