Difference between revisions of "Immanuel Velikovsky"
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| − | '''Immanuel Velikovsky''' (1895-1979) was a [[Jewish]] trained [[psychiatrist]] and [[historian]], who in the 1950s proposed a radical new interpretation of [[ancient history]] and the evolution of the [[solar system]] in order to reconcile [[Biblical]] accounts with observed fact. In particular, he hypothesised that the planet [[Venus]] was originally a comet ejected from [[Jupiter]] around 1450 BC, and went careering around the solar system disrupting the orbits of both [[Mars]] and [[Earth]] before settling into its present orbit. These disruptions, he believed, could account for all the apparent impossible things described in the Bible, from the parting of the [[Red Sea]] to the sun standing still. To accompany his astronomical theories he devised a totally new chronology for [[Ancient Egypt]], moving the end of the Middle Kingdom to 1450 BC and making it coincide with the [[Exodus]]. | + | '''Immanuel Velikovsky''' (1895-1979) was a Russian-born American [[Jewish]] trained [[psychiatrist]] and [[historian]],<ref>[http://diglib.princeton.edu/ead/getEad?id=ark:/88435/v692t621n Immanuel Velikovsky Papers], 1920-1996. At Princeton University</ref> who in the 1950s proposed a radical new interpretation of [[ancient history]] and the evolution of the [[solar system]] in order to reconcile [[Biblical]] accounts with observed fact. In particular, he hypothesised that the planet [[Venus]] was originally a comet ejected from [[Jupiter]] around 1450 BC, and went careering around the solar system disrupting the orbits of both [[Mars]] and [[Earth]] before settling into its present orbit. These disruptions, he believed, could account for all the apparent impossible things described in the Bible, from the parting of the [[Red Sea]] to the sun standing still. To accompany his astronomical theories he devised a totally new chronology for [[Ancient Egypt]], moving the end of the Middle Kingdom to 1450 BC and making it coincide with the [[Exodus]]. |
Some problems with his theory include the fact that Velikovsky offered no mechanism to explain how Jupiter could have expelled Venus without disrupting the complex system of rings and moons, where the energy for such a massive expulsion came from, and why a gas planet like Jupiter would expel a rocky planet like Venus. | Some problems with his theory include the fact that Velikovsky offered no mechanism to explain how Jupiter could have expelled Venus without disrupting the complex system of rings and moons, where the energy for such a massive expulsion came from, and why a gas planet like Jupiter would expel a rocky planet like Venus. | ||
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| + | ==References== | ||
| + | {{reflist|2}} | ||
[[Category:Jewish People]] | [[Category:Jewish People]] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velikovsky, Immanuel}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Velikovsky, Immanuel}} | ||
Revision as of 09:19, February 3, 2009
Immanuel Velikovsky (1895-1979) was a Russian-born American Jewish trained psychiatrist and historian,[1] who in the 1950s proposed a radical new interpretation of ancient history and the evolution of the solar system in order to reconcile Biblical accounts with observed fact. In particular, he hypothesised that the planet Venus was originally a comet ejected from Jupiter around 1450 BC, and went careering around the solar system disrupting the orbits of both Mars and Earth before settling into its present orbit. These disruptions, he believed, could account for all the apparent impossible things described in the Bible, from the parting of the Red Sea to the sun standing still. To accompany his astronomical theories he devised a totally new chronology for Ancient Egypt, moving the end of the Middle Kingdom to 1450 BC and making it coincide with the Exodus.
Some problems with his theory include the fact that Velikovsky offered no mechanism to explain how Jupiter could have expelled Venus without disrupting the complex system of rings and moons, where the energy for such a massive expulsion came from, and why a gas planet like Jupiter would expel a rocky planet like Venus.
References
- ↑ Immanuel Velikovsky Papers, 1920-1996. At Princeton University