Title: Kepler’s Geometrical Epistemology and the Structure of the Mind
By Domenica Romagni (Colorado State University, Philosophy)
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025
Time: 1530-1700
Room: H232
Abstract: When compared to other figures in the early modern period, there has not been much discussion of Kepler in philosophical contexts. However, his understanding of the mind and its interface with the world is highly original, and it is of the utmost importance for understanding other aspects of his work, like his approach to scientific methodology. In this paper, I will provide a detailed consideration of Kepler’s approach to knowledge acquisition as rooted in his philosophy of mind and show how it provides a unique and fascinating alternative to both his early 17th century contemporaries and to his philosophical predecessors. My discussion will focus primarily on his paradigm case of perception and knowledge acquisition: musical harmony.
Kepler conceives of the mind as an immaterial geometrical entity that possesses innate knowledge required for perceiving and comprehending the external world. The human mind is made in the image of God’s mind, which Kepler expresses geometrically through the relationship between the circle (i.e. human mind) and the sphere (i.e. divine mind). This connection to the divine ensures that the human mind possesses reflections of the same concepts and relations, or archetypes, that God used in creating the world. This framework clearly bears hallmarks of the neo-Platonic tradition, but Kepler’s treatment of these elements departs from other neo-Platonists in important ways (e.g. he emphasizes the metaphysical primacy of the circle and the significance of limitation for knowledge acquisition). Kepler is also indebted to the neo-Aristotelian tradition (e.g. his model of sensory perception relies on the transmission and assimilation of sensible species). Similarly, though, his incorporation of these aspects is highly innovative, especially regarding how he combines them with his unique brand of quantitative perception and reasoning. And, while Kepler’s framework bears some similarities to later early modern rationalist trends, his emphasis on the geometrical foundation of the mind and the way it manifests at different levels of mental activity sets his views apart. For Kepler, geometrical synthesis is fundamental to sensitive, imaginative, and intellectual activity. In sensory perception, the geometrical archetypes innate in the human mind provide the means by which we apprehend the world and explain the character of our perceptions. Objects are pleasing or displeasing, comprehensible or incomprehensible, based on whether and how they conform to these archetypes. These archetypes also provide the basis for intellectual engagement with the world, the difference being that they operate unconsciously in sensation, while they are reflectively employed by the intellect when actively theorizing about the world. In this way, I will argue that we should see Kepler as a resourceful theorist who adapts philosophical tools at hand to create an original and sophisticated conception of mind and its facilitation of knowledge acquisition.
About the speaker: Domenica Romagni is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Colorado State University. She earned her PhD at Princeton University and specialize in Early Modern philosophy, philosophy of music and aesthetics, and the history and philosophy of science, with additional interests in philosophy of mind. Her research focuses on philosophy of mind and perception in the 17th century, explanatory virtues and scientific theory-building in the Early Modern period, and musical perception. Dr. Romagni received a BA with a concentration in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University and a BM in cello performance from the Peabody Conservatory. Prior to her return to philosophy, she taught cello and worked as a freelance musician.
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