Copernican Principle

Copernican Principle

The Copernican Principle is the philosophical statement that no "special"
observers should be proposed. The term originated in the paradigm shift from
the Aristotelian model of the heavens, which placed the Earth at the center
of the Solar system because it appears that everything revolved around the
Earth. Nicolaus Copernicus demonstrated that the Earth is not, in fact, in
the center of the system and the motion of the heavens can be explained
without assuming that we are observing from a special position.

The implications of Copernicus' work can not be exaggerated. His views challenged the literal interpretation of Scripture, the philosophical and metaphysical foundations of moral theory, and even common sense itself. The result was a massive opposition to his reported ideas. It was the slow, sure acceptance of the heliocentric theory by natural philosophers that ultimately quieted the general clamor, however the name of Copernicus is still a battle cry against the establishment in religion, philosophy and science. In later years with Freud, man lost his Godlike mind; with Darwin his exalted place among the creatures of the Earth; with Copernicus man had lost his privileged position in the Universe.