Kepler's De quantitatibus

Summary

The paper is an introduction to and an annotated translation of De quantitatibus, a mathematical manuscript by Johannes Kepler. Conceived as a philosophical treatise, the text collects, orders, and interprets the Aristotelian passages relevant to mathematics. Kepler thought of De quantitatibus as an introduction to Dasypodius's textbook, but by choosing the Aristotelian context, he distances himself from the tradition to which Dasypodius belonged. Dasypodius's works on mathematics, like Ramus's, were within the genre developed after the rediscovery of Proclus's commentary on Euclid. Instead, Kepler took a position following the Aristotelian humanism of Schegk. While the dating of De quantitatibus is still uncertain, it is likely that Kepler wrote it not too long after his education in Tübingen, where he received instruction in natural philosophy under the influence of Schegk. In De quantitatibus, Kepler also exhibits some original views on mathematics within this humanist Aristotelian context.