Definition of geocentrism - What it is, Meaning and Concept

The geocentrism is an ancient theory of astronomy that held that the planet Earth was the center of the universe .The Greek mathematician and astronomer Claudio Ptolemy was his main driver in the 2nd century .

According to the foundations of geocentrism, the sun and the rest of the stars revolve around the Earth .This was the most accepted astronomical theory until the 16th century , when the heliocentrism (which locates to the sun in the center) began to prevail thanks to the contributions of Nicolas Copernico .Today, science has shown that, indeed, the Earth revolves around the sun , although there are still people who believe in geocentrism.

The theory of geocentrism was present in many civilizations of antiquity .One of the most important examples dest These events occurred in Babylon , an ancient city located in the Lower Mesopotamia (area also known as Lower Mesopotamia ), located between the city's own settlement and the mouth of the Tigris and the Euphrates, two important rivers.The geocentric vision of the universe that predominated in Babylon was completed in the second century with the work of Claudius Ptolemy.

Several centuries before Christ , thinkers like Anaximandro already postulated the geocentric theory; in this case, defining the planet as a cylinder that floated in the center of the universe.At that time, other philosophers considered that the Earth was a sphere, but not located in the center.The combination of both postures derives in the development of geocentrism.

This means that already in the philosophy and astronomy of Ancient Greece geocentrism had a wide acceptance.In this framework we must talk about presocratic philosophy , that is of the period that began with the birth of Greek philosophy and concluded with the manifestations that have been influenced by the thought of Socrates .Throughout that time, to complement the idea of ​​the Earth in form It was believed that the other planets, the Moon and the Sun were hollow in wheels imperceptible by sight, that surrounded our planet, and that through them people could see the flames of a fire hidden.

The vision of the Earth as a sphere belonged to the followers of the philosophical and religious movement created by Pitagoras de Samos , who identify with the name of Pythagorean .Segun they, our planet was not at the center of the universe , but it moved around an invisible fire.As mentioned above, there came a moment in history in which these two ideas merged.

Platon and Aristoteles , one of his disciples, among other thinkers, spread geocentrism in the fourth century BC, both orally and In writing, Ptolemy continued his research work with his work entitled "The Almagesto" , and made several corrections, making his model accepted by Most astronomers, so the Ptolemaic model began to be associated with the geocentric model in general.

In El Almagesto, whose original name is in Arabic and translates as "mathematical composition", we find the broadest catalog of stars of antiquity.The Arabs used it and later Europeans until the Middle Ages, as it contains a considerable volume of information, including the relative movement of planets and stars, in addition to the description of the geocentric system.

Beyond what is indicated by current science , geocentrism is maintained in certain areas.For the creation of planetariums or the study of stars outside the solar system, geocentrism remains valid as it simplifies the work.Some religious fanatics , on the other hand, make a literal interpretation of the sacred books and still place the Earth in the center of the universe.