Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles The Geocentric Theory rooted in ancient Greek philosophy, notably Aristotle's ideas, posited Earth at the universe's center and was further developed by Ptolemy in his 2nd-century work "Almagest." Ptolemy's model, integrating complex concepts like epicycles, became the prevailing astronomical view for over a millennium, intertwined with Christian theology in the Middle Ages and widely accepted in Islamic and Christian scholarly circles. This theory's endurance exemplifies the fallacy of affirming the consequent. Observations that celestial bodies appeared to revolve around Earth led to the erroneous conclusion that Earth must be the universe's center. This reasoning assumes a direct causality from consequence to cause without considering other possible explanations. The shift to the heliocentric model, initiated by Copernicus in the 16th century and solidified by Kepler and Galileo's 17th-century findings, challenged this fallacy.
B2 ptolemy millennium theory century earth fallacy Why Did the Geocentric Theory Prevail for Over a Millennium? 37 1 Jay posted on 2023/11/30 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary