The belief that the Earth is flat
Is it a fairy tale?
If you go to Google and search for
"The flat Earth", there are a lot of suggestions that even people in
the Middle Ages, even back in ancient times, believed that the Earth was flat,
in reality has nothing on it and is therefore a fairy tale, which is to say a
fantasy product that some cheerful writers over time have allegedly wanted to
picture gullible people into. Among the critics of the story are Illustrated
Science, Videnskab.dk and DR.dk. The latter source, DR Radio & TV, has some
time ago launched the radio and TV program Detektor, which sees it as its task
to check facts and figures in the current debate, just as Detektor investigates
whether it, those in power, opinion leaders and the media performer will be
able to be documented. That is, whether it can be documented as true or false.
The excellent and most necessary critical
television program Detektor broadcast on Tuesday, December 11, 2012, a program
in which it was claimed that it was a definite mistake when certain people,
such as. the American author Washington Irving (1783-1859) in his book "Voyages
of Christopher Columbus" (1825), must have asserted the view that,
among other things, medieval Europeans had the view that the Earth is flat. In
the program, it was claimed that the "rumor" that the Earth is flat,
since then has mistakenly passed into i.a. European and American textbooks and,
moreover, in the general sense and in the literature.
As for the Italian seafarer Christoffer
Columbus (1451-1506), who was in Spanish service under Queen Isabella of
Castile, he had, on the basis of ancient and medieval geographical notions,
formed the view that it would be possible to find a shorter sea
route to Asia and India. During his first of three sea voyages in
1492, he and his 100-man crew reached aboard the sailing ships "Santa
Maria", "Nina" and "Pinta", during great hardships to
the Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti. But Columbus thus believed that he had found the
Japanese islands and the West Road to India. Therefore, the locals in the
mentioned places were termed as Indians, although these had nothing to do with
India, but the name remained hanging and is used to this day about Native
Americans.
There can be no doubt, however, that
Columbus and other enlightened people of his time had no other opinion than
that the Earth was round as a sphere. The latter had Nicolaus Cusanus (1401-64),
and even more so Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), made himself a
spokesman for, just as the cartographer From Mauro Camaldolese had
produced a map of the globe, which Columbus according to the book "The
Life & Times of Columbus”, Curtis Books, Philadelphia - New York 1967,
among other things is believed to have known and used.
The idea, belief, or perception that the
Earth is flat probably originates from the biblical account of creation in
Genesis, chapter 1, which, incidentally, has its parallels in ancient Egyptian
and ancient Greek astronomical and mythological notions. In ancient Egypt, the
Earth was imagined as a flat foundation over which the sky arched in a
semicircle. In ancient Greek astronomy, it was natural philosophers such as Thales
of Miletus (ca. 625-ca. 545), Anaximandros, 610-547 BC, and Anaximenes,
died around 525 BC, and not least the philosopher Anaxagoras, 500- 428
BC, who put forward the view that the Earth is flat and kept afloat because of
its size and because there is no void. The air that fills the room is
sustainable and keeps the ground up.
In the book "Verdensbilledet -
Astronomiens idéhistorie", published by Steen Hasselbalchs Forlag
1964, page 66, you can e.g. read the following quote by the natural philosopher
Anaxagoras (ca. 500 BC):
(Quote) The Earth is flat and is kept
floating because of its size and because there is no void. The air is very
sustainable and keeps the ground up. (Quote end)
No matter how utterly naive Anaxagoras'
notion of the floating flat Earth and the void around it may be, it is a kind
of evidence that there were even learned ancient Greeks who believed that the
earth was flat.
As mentioned above, there is reason to
believe and believe that the biblical account of creation, which is estimated
to have been created in the 10th century BC, has been the basis for many
Christian Europeans' perception of the creation and form of the Earth. In
Genesis, chapter 1, verses 1-10 state the creation of the Earth:
(Quote) 1. In the beginning God created the
heavens and the Earth. 2. And the Earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the face of the deep. But the Spirit of God hovered over the
waters. 3. And God said, "Let there be light!" and there was light.
4. And God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the
darkness; 5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And it was evening, and it was morning, the first day. 6. Then God said,
"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, to divide the waters."
7. And thus it came to pass: God made the firmament, and divided the waters
which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament;
8. and God called the firmament Heaven. And it was evening, and it was morning,
the second day. 9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together unto one place, and let the firmament be seen. And so it happened; 10.
And God called the firmament Earth, and the place where the waters compassed he
called the sea. And God saw that it was good. (Quote end)
One might argue that nowhere in the quote
above does it say directly that the Earth is flat, but in return there is also
nothing to say that the Earth is round. And historically, in biblical and
religious terms, the Earth has probably been flat since Moses was conceived. If
this were not the case, there would have been no reason to talk about a vault
over the waters, which, if I may say so, is horizontal, that is, in a sense
flat, and that the waters should be separated, so that “the solid land comes
into view!” But the fact that the Catholic Church had taken an authoritarian
patent on a literal interpretation of the creation account is one of the main
reasons for this. that as a result of the great discoveries made during the
15th and 15th centuries, there was a great deal of confusion and a great deal
of opposition in certain circles to the new worldview, which was slowly
emerging. for science and thus eventually also for the general public. It
opened up perspectives that radically changed the usual notions of the flat
Earth, as one had to realize that there were also inhabitants on the
diametrically opposite side of the Earth. This fact, however, there were some
witty people who laughed at, stating, partly, that it would be a total impossibility
for people to reside on the underside of the Earth, for they would logically
fall off and down into the abyss. The same had to apply to people who on the
surface of the earth ventured too far out to the sides.
Wise people have in recent times asked themselves
how it could be that the above-mentioned notions of the flat Earth at all could
have arisen. The answer must be a knowledge of epistemology, within which one
operates with the concept of "the naive-realistic worldview", and
according to this the Earth appears to be flat, almost like a circular disk,
where above the arch of the sky arches. That perception obviously depends on
the effects of the principle of perspective, both in terms of the perception of
the senses themselves, primarily the perception of vision, and secondarily on
the psychological perception. According to the immediate registration and
experience of outer space in particular, this appears as a hemispherical space
with the flat ground to the floor and the vaulted blue sky shell as the
ceiling. On the horizon, the celestial dome rests on the Earth, while the
amount of stars forms an unmanageable tangle on the celestial hemisphere. We
each perceive ourselves as the center of the world, which we are in a
psychological and subjective sense, but not in a physical sense, where we
constitute only a small part of the large and innumerable number of individuals
on earth.
It can thus be stated that the perception
that the Earth is flat is primarily due to the religious and mythological
notions of older times, which over time have become widespread to the regular
and uneducated part of the European population. This one had no trouble
understanding the notion of the flat Earth with the sky dome, for that was what
they themselves saw with their own eyes and understood with their mind. This is
the theme that the Danish playwright and comedy writer Ludvig Holberg
(1684-1754), who was mentioned in the Detektor program, uses in particular in
the play "Erasmus Montanus" (1723), in which he ironizes over
the self-righteous and conceited Rasmus Berg, who, after passing his
Latin matriculation examination in Copenhagen, returns home to his regular
parents on the farm. Here he behaves like a learned man, who looks with a
certain contempt and irritation at his ordinary parents, because among other
things they think that the Earth is flat, when Rasmus now knows better, namely
that the Earth is truly round as a ball.
But with Detektor's claim that no one has
ever believed and believed that the Earth is flat, one ignores - probably
unintentionally - that part of Ludvig Holberg's comedy "Erasmus
Montanus", 3rd act. 2nd scene, in which Rasmus defends his dissertation
with the riding warden Jesper:
JESPER: Listen, my dear Monsieur Montanus
Berg! I have heard that learned men must have such strange opinions. Is it true
that people in Copenhagen think that the Earth is round? Here on the mountain
no one will believe it; for where can it be, since the Earth seems quite flat?
MONTANUS: This is because the Earth is so
large that you cannot feel its roundness.
JESPER: Yes, it's true, the Earth is big,
it's solid half the world. But listen, monsieur! How many would like to make a
moon?
MONTANUS: A moon! The moon is towards a
star just like Peblingesøen towards the whole of Zealand.
JESPER:
Ha ha ha ha! The
learned people are never right in the head. I have heard my faith in those who
say that the Earth runs and the sun stands still. Monsieur doesn't think so
too, does he?
MONTANUS: No sensible man doubts that.
JESPER:
Ha ha ha! If
the Earth were to run, we would have to fall in between and break our necks.
MONTANUS: Can't a ship run with you without
breaking your neck?
JESPER: But you say that the Earth is
running around, should the ship turn around, did not the people fall into the
lake?
MONTANUS: No, I have to explain it more
clearly to you if you want patience.
JESPER: I do not want to hear about my
faith. I had to be crazy if I thought so. The Earth should tumble over, and we
should not fall headlong The devil in violence down into the abyss, ha ha ha!
[…] (Quote end)
This is how the two debaters continue the
discussion about whether the Earth is flat or round, and whether it moves or
not, the scene out. But the bailiff does not allow himself to be convinced,
neither whether the Earth is round nor moving, but thinks it is a foolish
thought, because if the Earth were round and revolved around the Sun, we humans
would partly fall over and partly fall off and down into the abyss.
Flat as a pancake or a plaice?
On Videnskab.dk’s website, Associate
Professor Emeritus Kurt Møller Pedersen, who teaches science studies at Aarhus
University, has the following to say about Holberg and his comedy “Erasmus
Montanus”:
(Quote) It's Holberg's fault
Another example that you can pull out of
your hat if you jump a little forward in time is Ludvig Holberg's comedy
Erasmus Montanus from 1723. In the story, Holberg makes fun of mother Ana, who
thinks that the Earth is flat as a pancake.
Everyone in Holberg's time knew that the
Earth is round, that's why it's funny when mother Ana thinks it's flat,
explains Kurt Møller Pedersen. (Quote end)
Apart from the fact that "mother
Ana" is called "mother Nille", it seems to me that Kurt Møller
Pedersen escapes a little easily and quickly by blaming Holberg - or one might
say the credit - for the spread of the belief on the flat Earth .
Videnskab.dk immediately continues to quote
another scientist who is also inclined to blame Holberg for his belief in the
flat Earth:
(Quote) According to Ole J. Knudsen,
planetarium director at the Steno Museum, Aarhus, the idea that in the old days
people thought the Earth was flat as a plaice is more widespread in Denmark
than in most other countries. And he points to the misunderstanding of
Holberg's famous comedy as one of the reasons.
»Especially Danes have an idea that they
thought the Earth was flat. I have a feeling that it is Erasmus Montanus'
fault," says Ole J. Knudsen, who has not investigated the feeling further.
(Quote end)
The historians, no one mentioned no one
forgotten, who were interviewed in the Detector program, argued as a fact that
science has never claimed or believed that the Earth is flat, and in that they
are right. But the historians in question, on the other hand, do not seem to
have much left over for philosophy, religion and mythology, which are probably
perceived as worthless documentation, at least measured by scientific scale. In
recent times, there seems to be broad agreement among the academic researchers
that the notion of the flat Earth is and remains a tale, and it must be
admitted that the researchers that the sources of the "tale" are not
many and not very well documented. As for the contributing researchers in the
Detector program, it is, moreover, my personal impression that the interviewed
historians more or less felt surprised by the convincing and well-worded
questions and comments of the convincing Detektor host. It is also a special
situation that is likely to be confusing when people who are not normally used
to it suddenly find themselves in focus for searchlight, microphone and camera.
Belief in the flat Earth. Concluding
remarks:
In the Detector program on 11.12.12, Ludvig
Holberg's comedy "Erasmus Montanus" was mentioned, because it
contains an example that the belief that the Earth is flat was widespread among
the general population at the time when the comedy's action takes place, that
is, in the 18th century. Cf. comedy's 3rd act, 2nd scene regarding. Rasmus
Berg's conversation with the riding bailiff Jesper, who is quoted above. The
detector program put forward as its view that it is false to think or believe
that the belief that the Earth is flat was as widespread as commonly assumed.
In addition, it can be cautiously objected that Holberg must have had some
evidence to let Jesper Ridefoged speak as he does, and according to which
statements the ordinary population at the time allegedly thought that the
ground was flat. For it can probably not rightly be considered probable that it
is something that Holberg himself has invented or composed, but rather is
something he has experienced through his acquaintance with ordinary people.
Incidentally, there seems to be a straight
line between the Greek natural philosopher Anaxagoras 500 BC. and Jesper
Ridefoged in 1723, the year the comedy "Erasmus Montanus" was
probably written. In the period of well over a couple of thousand years, it seems
that the ordinary European and otherwise more or less superstitious people
have, of course, thought that the Earth is flat. And how should the ordinary
population have basically known anything else and more, because popular
enlightenment only really got underway during the 19th century, here at home
especially after the pioneer, natural philosopher and scientist H. C. Ørsted
(1777-1861) in 1824 had founded the "Society for the Propagation of
Natural Science". At least until then and perhaps longer, the uneducated
and ordinary people have relied more on what their own senses told them than on
what the more or less learned gentlemen - it was only men who in ancient times
were academically learned - reported on i.a. the shape of the Earth and other
habitus.
Graphic
representation from around 1000 BC, which shows the Egyptians' mythological
perception of the relationship between the arch of the sky and the floating
Earth, carried up by the air.
The image does not directly indicate that
the ground was perceived as flat, but this is evident from the context in which
the image is included.
On the Steno Museum's website you can see
the picture above and read the following text:
(Quote) The Egyptian worldview
The Egyptian worldview around the year 1000
BC. was based on the immediate experience that the Earth is flat and that the
sky is a vault on which the stars are fixed and on which the Sun, Moon and
planets move. But characteristic enough of the mythological worldview of the
time, this is expressed symbolically by means of three gods: The sky goddess
Nut vaults over the Earth god Geb carried by the air god Shu.
The Babylonian worldview
The Babylonians, like the Egyptians, believed
that the Earth was flat [my emphasis]. But by observing the celestial
bodies over long periods of time, they nevertheless discovered the system in
their regular motions. Using tables written in cuneiform in clay, they could
thus predict e.g. solar and lunar eclipses.
This was of great importance, as the
Babylonians identified the planets with their main gods and believed that they
had an influence on the country's economy and government. Therefore, the
Babylonian astronomers were the king's officials, who i.a. should try to read the
will of the gods in the position of the planets in relation to the stars and
give the king warnings on that basis. Astrology is thus a relic of the
Babylonians' worldview. (Quote end)
On Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, you
can read the following about the Middle Ages:
(Quote) The Middle Ages (Latin: medium
aevum or media ætas) in European history denote the period from the end of
antiquity in the time of the migration to the early modern period or the
Renaissance. It has been common to date it more precisely to 476-1453 with the
fall of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, respectively, as the extremes.
Today it is commonly used about the period approx. 500-1500. (Quote end)
A flat Earth. Beneath God and the Angels is
the Firmament, and almost above the Earth, the Air, and the Water, there is a
Sphere of Fire! 1475
Even if the caption begins with the words
"A flat Earth", one can of course still object here that the image
does not directly say anything about the flat Earth, as it only shows the
hierarchy between God and the angels and the firmament and the Earth.
Copperplate in Camille Flammarion 1888 in
The Atmosphere: Popular Meteorology (p. 163)
The French astronomer and author Nicolas
Camille Flammarion (1842-1925), who in 1887 was a co-founder of the Societé
astronomique de France, published a large number of popular books and journals
on astronomy and topics such as spiritualism and spiritual phenomena. Among
other things, he thought about life in the universe and notions about concepts
such as infinity and immortality. Several of his books have been translated
into Danish, such as "Inhabited Worlds" (1887) and "The
End of the World" (1895). In 1973, the publisher Nihil Press Inc.
published. a Danish translation by K.L. Müllen, edited by Peter Juhl Svendsen,
of the latter book under the title "Predictions of the Doom of the
World".
On the copperplate above, a curious and
inquisitive man, who is obviously on the flat Earth, is seen sticking his head
out of the dome of the sky to see what might be hiding on the other side of it.
For it turns out that there IS something on the outside of the sky, namely the
great universe, which, however, was only really understood in and with Copernicus
and Galilei, and especially with the observations and results of astronomy in
the following centuries. One might rightly ask, from where did Flammarion get
the impression that there were people who thought that this was the case with
the Earth and the sky, as shown in the picture? It can hardly be something he
himself has invented and thought, and it does not seem likely that he has known
either Holberg or his "Erasmus Montanus". Incidentally, the advanced
notions of the infinite universe, which were due to the Italian philosopher and
author Giordano Bruno, tentatively rejected by science as being
unrealistic visions, were akin to fantasy images. In fact, these visions and
ideas have only really found their legality and confirmation in recent times,
namely with the Danish intuitive thinker and mystic Martinus' worldview.
The view that the belief in the flat Earth
has been more or less widespread among the ordinary people of the past is also
indirectly shared and confirmed by the author Johannes Bjerre, as in the
book "Our Worldview" (”Vort Verdensbillede”), Jul. Gjellerups Forlag,
1939, on pages 30-31 i.a. writes the following:
(Quote) In an immediate consideration with
the naked senses, space alone will appear to us as a hemispherical space with the
flat Earth to the floor and the vaulted blue sky to the ceiling. On the
horizon, the dome of heaven rests on the Earth. The stars seem to form an
unmanageable tangle in the celestial ceiling. The daily movement of sun and
moon, on the other hand, is grasped fairly quickly. We seem to be at the center
of the world, a fact which we can only feel flattered by and therefore note
with satisfaction, and in our joy over this we can of course think of nothing
but that sun and moon must be put in the sky merely for our sake.
With such a worldview, of course, humanity
in its infancy had to begin, just as we all as children have done. Who has not
in the fidelity of his childhood thought: Once I grow up and have a good time,
I will still one day go out and see how it is where heaven and Earth meet,
possibly lift up and look a little behind; for after all we do not let
ourselves be stopped by this limit; but no one has yet grown big enough for
that.
With the imagination, one has then sought
to make up for the lack of knowledge. Before they had greater contact with each
other, the different peoples built in their own way, and almost always in close
connection with the religious notions of the place and time. However, it is
usually difficult of the many scattered fragments in writings from the
different times to piece together an overall picture without contradictions.
[…] (Quote end)
But again, one can of course discuss the
documentary value of Johs. Bjerre's statement, because one would be able to
claim that he himself has also been a 'victim' of the belief in the tale of the
flat Earth. However, I would allow myself to doubt that Bjerre alone should
have based his view on Holberg's "Erasmus Montanus", in addition, I
think he was a too serious communicator of historical phenomena.
But even though, according to Johannes
Bjerre, quoted above, it is difficult "to piece together an overall
picture without contradictions", the conclusion must nevertheless be that
Detektor is not unequivocally right in that the perception that the Earth is
flat has not been widespread in older European cultural history. On the
contrary, the biblical creation account's notions of the Earth's creation and
form in particular formed to some extent a provocative starting point for the
exploration of space in particular by early astronomical science. Medieval
science, however, had not only false notions to fight against, but also a
powerful authoritarian Catholic papal church, which had canonized the biblical
notions of the Earth and the form of the Earth. It got controversial people
like e.g. Giordano Bruno (1545-1600) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
to mark. The former cost it his life, as the Inquisition sentenced him to death
as a heretic to be burned at the stake, which took place in Canpo di Fiori in
Rome in 1600, and the latter, Galilei, was also convicted as a heretic, but
escaped with life imprisonment, allegedly because he renounced his view that
the Earth moves around the sun, and not the other way around, as the church
maintained.
© December 2012 Harry Rasmussen. Translated
into English in September 2020 by the author.
_____________________