Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds

_Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds_ is a translation of the work _Entretiens sur la pluralite des mondes_, first published in 1686, by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle. Fontenelle (1657-1757) was a fascinating figure of the French Enlightenment, who was among the first to popularize scientific ideas. Fontenelle was critical of much of religion and superstition (for example, he wrote critically of people who lived in fear of comets). At the time Fontenelle wrote, religious conflicts existed between Protestants and Catholics; however, Fontenelle faced the possibility of censure in that he maintained that the earth was not the center of the universe. Fontenelle was heavily influenced by the "modern" philosophy of Descartes (particularly Descartes' theory of vortices), as well as the heliocentric astronomy of Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler, and the ideas of Galileo (including Galileo's use of the scientific method and his use of the telescope for studying the night sky). Fontenelle also entertained more modern "enlightened" ideas regarding the place of women (he places a woman in a central position within these dialogues showing his belief that women could indeed be scholars). However, perhaps most interesting of all are Fontenelle's speculations concerning the plurality of worlds, life on other planets (and moons), and the possibility of other solar systems surrounding other stars (and life on them), as well as the interesting idea that man would someday learn to travel to other planets (or the Moon) by means of flight (far ahead of his time!). Ideas such as these influenced many subsequent writers and thinkers, including the early science-fiction of Jules Verne as well as subsequent utopian literature. Religiously, Fontenelle has proven difficult to pin down given his rejection of superstition and his hostility towards clericalism, leading some to suggest that he was in fact a "pagan". The _Conversations_ presented here were continually updated by Fontenelle throughout his life (and a sixth dialogue was added to the original five, though it does not appear in this edition). This edition features an Introduction by Nina Rattner Gelbart, which explains the context of this book and presents the life of Fontenelle. Further, there is a Translator's Preface by the translator H. A. Hargreaves, which discusses the life of Fontenelle as well as notes some of the peculiarities of the editions of this work and the difficulties in translating the work. This book has proven to be a difficult one to translate and some of that difficulty may be seen here. Fontenelle's book begins with a preface where he compares his situation in putting forth a book of popular philosophy to that of Cicero who wrote in his own tongue. Fontenelle also explains the characters who appear in his dialogues, including the Marquise (the female character in the dialogue), and why he has chosen to place a woman in the dialogue. In this preface, Fontenelle also con

We in our modern age are accustomed to thinking about topics such as space travel, life on other worlds, Martian meteorites, and all manner of other modern scientific ideas. This charming translation of a charming and important work in the history of science shows us that our ideas may not be quite as modern as we think they are.First published in 1686 (that's right, 1686), Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds discusses how the stars in the night sky are other solar systems, probably with planets and people of their own, and that we may visit them, or they us, one day. What makes the work so charming, and of lasting literary as well as scientific value, is that it is written as a dialogue between a philosopher and a lady as they spend several evenings walking together in the lady's garden. "What if," asks the philosopher, the travelers from other worlds "were skillful enough to navigate on the outer surface of our air, and from there, through their curiosity to see us, they angled for us like fish? Would that please you?" "Why not?" the lady replies, "I'd put my myself into their nets of my own volition just to have the pleasure of seeing those who caught me."If you have any interest in the history of science, or science fiction, or astronomy and space travel, you will enjoy this volume.

I read this book for a class I was taking over the history of scientific thought and dreaded it due to the bland nature of the other works the class had looked at. I was proved very pleasantly surprised, though. Wonderfully written and very sweet, this book is surprisingly forward thinking in many of it predictions for our modern knowledge of the cosmos. The romance added in with the scientific discussions adds a wonderful touch, as do the insightful comments into the human experience and psyche.