Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds

Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds (French: Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes) is a popular science book by French author Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, published in 1686.

Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds
Front page of 1701 edition
AuthorBernard le Bovier de Fontenelle
Original titleEntretiens sur la pluralité des mondes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Published1686 (1686)
For the metaphysical treatise by David Lewis, see On the Plurality of Worlds.

It is an early exposition of cosmic pluralism, the idea that the stars are distant suns which might have their own planetary systems, including the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The book is Fontenelle's most famous work and is considered to be one of the first major works of the Age of Enlightenment.

Background
Main article: Cosmic pluralism

Unlike many scientific works of its time, Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds was written not in Latin, but in French and is notable as one of the first books to attempt an explanation of scientific theories in popular language. A precursor of the book Giordano Bruno's De l'infinito, universo e mondi of 1584.

Content

In the preface, Fontenelle suggests that the offered explanation should be easily understood even by those without scientific knowledge, and he specifically addresses female readers. The book itself is presented as a series of conversations between a gallant philosopher and a marquise, who walk in the latter's garden at night and gaze at stars. The philosopher explains the heliocentric model and also muses on the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Reception

The book was very well received both in France and elsewhere, and was regularly published. In 1691, Fontenelle was elected to the Académie française.[1] Fontenelle's work was not cast polemically against the world view of the Catholic Church or the Protestant churches, nor did it attract the attention, positive or negative, of theologians or prelates.

Translations

The first English translation was compounded by John Glanvill in 1687, followed by another translation by Aphra Behn in 1688, under the title A Discovery of New Worlds. Antiokh Kantemir translated it into Russian in 1730, although the translation was only published in a censored edition in 1740, due to objections from the Russian Orthodox Church.

References
  1. "Fontenelle, Bernard Le Bovier, sieur de." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 3 March 2007 .
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