David Marshall Miller is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University. He has published articles in journals including Philosophy of Science and History of Science.

• List of figures; Preface; Note on texts; 1. Introduction: centers and orientations; 2. Pluribus ergo existentibus centris: explanations, descriptions, and Copernicus; 3. Non est motus omnino: Gilbert, verticity, and the Law of the Whole; 4. Respicere sinus: Kepler, oriented Space, and the ellipse; 5. Mille movimenti circolari: from Impetus to conserved curvilinear motion in Galileo; 6. Directions sont entre elles paralleles: Descartes and his critics on oriented space and the parallelogram rule; 7. Incline it to verge: Newton's spatial synthesis; 8. Conclusion: methodological morals; References; Index.

'In this exciting new study, Miller argues that the Scientific Revolution depended crucially on the adoption of an oriented representation of space, privileging parallel lines instead of centers. From this novel perspective he throws fresh light on the disparate contributions of Averroës, Gilbert, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Fermat, Roberval, Hooke and Newton. Highly recommended for all those with an interest in the birth of modern cosmology.' Richard T. W. Arthur, McMaster University, Ontario

David Marshall Miller is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University. He has published articles in journals including Philosophy of Science and History of Science.

• List of figures; Preface; Note on texts; 1. Introduction: centers and orientations; 2. Pluribus ergo existentibus centris: explanations, descriptions, and Copernicus; 3. Non est motus omnino: Gilbert, verticity, and the Law of the Whole; 4. Respicere sinus: Kepler, oriented Space, and the ellipse; 5. Mille movimenti circolari: from Impetus to conserved curvilinear motion in Galileo; 6. Directions sont entre elles paralleles: Descartes and his critics on oriented space and the parallelogram rule; 7. Incline it to verge: Newton's spatial synthesis; 8. Conclusion: methodological morals; References; Index.

'In this exciting new study, Miller argues that the Scientific Revolution depended crucially on the adoption of an oriented representation of space, privileging parallel lines instead of centers. From this novel perspective he throws fresh light on the disparate contributions of Averroës, Gilbert, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Fermat, Roberval, Hooke and Newton. Highly recommended for all those with an interest in the birth of modern cosmology.' Richard T. W. Arthur, McMaster University, Ontario

David Marshall Miller is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University. He has published articles in journals including Philosophy of Science and History of Science.

• List of figures; Preface; Note on texts; 1. Introduction: centers and orientations; 2. Pluribus ergo existentibus centris: explanations, descriptions, and Copernicus; 3. Non est motus omnino: Gilbert, verticity, and the Law of the Whole; 4. Respicere sinus: Kepler, oriented Space, and the ellipse; 5. Mille movimenti circolari: from Impetus to conserved curvilinear motion in Galileo; 6. Directions sont entre elles paralleles: Descartes and his critics on oriented space and the parallelogram rule; 7. Incline it to verge: Newton's spatial synthesis; 8. Conclusion: methodological morals; References; Index.

'In this exciting new study, Miller argues that the Scientific Revolution depended crucially on the adoption of an oriented representation of space, privileging parallel lines instead of centers. From this novel perspective he throws fresh light on the disparate contributions of Averroës, Gilbert, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Fermat, Roberval, Hooke and Newton. Highly recommended for all those with an interest in the birth of modern cosmology.' Richard T. W. Arthur, McMaster University, Ontario