Cusanus: A Legacy of Learned Ignorance

13. “The Earth Is A Noble Star” : The Arguments for the Relativity of Motion in the Cosmology of Nicolaus Cusanus and Their Transformation in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

Regine Kather . “     ” The Arguments for the Relativity of Motion in the Cosmology of Nicolaus Cusanus and Their Transformation in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity The Thesis: A Change in Cosmology In Book II of his treatise De docta ignorantia, Cusanus initiated a decisive transformation in the idea of the universe. For the first time in occidental cosmology, the universe loses every center. Neither the earth nor the sun, as even Nicholas Copernicus continued to maintain, is the center of the cosmos. Concerning the decentering and the relativity of motion of the celestial bodies, Cusanus can be called a predecessor of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Nevertheless, the form of argumentation that leads Cusanus to his thesis differs completely from the method that Einstein practiced. And, as a consequence, the relation of the material and the spiritual dimension of reality is, as we will see, completely different. The Method: A Speculative Form of Argumentation To compare the cosmological concepts of Cusanus and Einstein, we must first recall their mode of argumentation. Cusanus does not yet separate the method of physical research and the method of theological argumentation . As in Plato’s Timaeus, cosmology still deals with theological and physical questions as well. The subject matter of physics and theology is therefore also the same. For Cusanus, it first has to be explained that the world is. Consequently , the starting point for the explanation of the structure of the universe is, as for all medieval thinkers before him, absolute being. “[W]hat is caused derives altogether from its cause and not at all from itself.”1 With226 1. Nicholas of Cusa, De docta ignorantia II, incipit in Philosophisch-Theologische Schriften, out an absolute being as the ontological cause of the universe, all scientific research would be impossible. Though God is the foundation of the universe through his being and by his creative power, he does not influence the motion of the stars in a physical manner by mechanical forces or, in a more modern sense, by electricity, gravitation, or magnetism. He creates the being of the finite things; he is their first reason and their final aim. To describe the universe, it is therefore not yet sufficient to explain the physical laws that govern the motion of the celestial bodies. Even the order of the stars reflects a spiritual meaning, for it is a visible sign of the relation of finite objects to infinite being. The meaning of causality therefore is not restricted to causa efficiens (“efficient cause”) as in modern science but also implies causa exemplaris (“exemplary cause”), causa formalis (“formal cause”), and causa finalis (“final cause”). Cosmology not only has to explain how material structures of the universe have developed and how the celestial bodies are moving. It has to explain the specific form of the universe and, above all, its meaning. Though Cusanus does not yet know the difference between the truth of being (Seinswahrheit) and the truth of scientific statements (wissenschaftliche Wahrheit) as it is discussed in the twentieth century, he does distinguish, as did Plato in the Seventh Letter, the truth of being from mathematical and physical statements. Only absolute being is immaterial and transcends time and space. It has no limitation, which means that it is not determined by a relation to anything else. It is therefore impossible to define absolute being precisely with rational concepts, which always are, as Plato has already mentioned in the Timaeus, occupied with determined objects. The only form of knowledge that may be adequate is a form of knowledge that transcends all mental concepts. But though it is impossible to explain what absolute being is in itself and how finite beings are grounded in it, man can know that it is the ontological foundation of the universe and therefore the foundation of every form of knowledge. “Therefore, it is fitting that we be learned-in-ignorance beyond our understanding , so that (though not grasping the truth precisely as it is) we may “The Earth is a Noble Star” 227 ed. Leo Gabriel, trans. Wilhelm and Dietlind Dupré, 3 vols. (Vienna: Herder, 1982), 1:313. The English translation is taken from Nicholas of Cusa, On Learned Ignorance, trans. Jasper Hopkins (Minneapolis, Minn.: Banning Press, 1985), 87. Hereafter this translation will be referred to as Hopkins, On Learned Ignorance. at least be led to seeing that there is a precise truth which we cannot now comprehend.”2 In contrast...