Epicurean Astronomy? Atomistic and Corpuscular Stars in Kepler’s Century

This essay traces some general lines underscoring the presence of Epicurean themes in the comet controversies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I specifically consider atomistic and corpuscular motifs connecting the debates on new stars and comets before and after Kepler. Atomism and the corruptibility of the heavens – theses that were reinforced by observations of celestial novelties – were at odds with the harmonic vision of the world that Kepler had embraced from the outset of his astronomical enterprise, as is clearly evidenced by the theological speculations of 'Mysterium cosmographicum' (1596). In turn, atomistic theories rehabilitated infinitism and cosmological homogeneity, while undermining faith in divine providence and the harmony of Creation.