Theories of Vision from Al-kindi to Kepler

Kepler's successful solution to the problem of vision early in the seventeenth century was a theoretical triumph as significant as many of the more celebrated developments of the scientific revolution. Yet the full import of Kepler's arguments can be grasped only when they are viewed against the background of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance visual theory. David C. Lindberg provides this background, and in doing so he fills the gap in historical scholarship and constructs a model for tracing the development of scientific ideas.

David C. Lindberg is professor and chairman of the department of the history of science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.


About the Author
David C. Lindberg is Hilldale Professor of History of Science at the University of Wisconsin and past-president of the History of Science Society. His other books include The Beginnings of Western Science, published by the University of Chicago Press.