ABSTRACT
Galileo was a contemporary of Kepler, his life overlapping that of the great German astronomer at both ends. After the two became acquainted through the publication of the Mysterium Cosmographicum in 1597, they remained firm friends and carried on a considerable and interesting correspondence, but it cannot be said that either influenced the philosophy of the other to any important extent. Each, of course, made use of the other’s positive and fruitful scientific discoveries, but the metaphysics of each was conditioned primarily by general environmental influences and by intensive reflection on the ultimate bearings of his own achievements.
