Soru

Scholars of sixteenth-century cartography often view the charts of Gerardus Mercator as a clean break from medieval cosmological schemata, heralding an era of purely empirical navigation. Historian Elena Rostova, however, suggests that Mercator’s projection was less an iconoclastic departure than a pragmatic compromise between traditional teleological geography and emerging mathematical techniques. While Rostova convincingly demonstrates that Mercator retained certain speculative landmasses to preserve global geometric symmetry—a nod to Aristotelian harmony—her assertion that this reliance on symmetry fundamentally compromised the navigational utility of his charts is less persuasive. Mercator’s primary audience comprised transatlantic mariners who prized the projection’s conformal fidelity over theoretical purity. Thus, while Rostova rightly cautions against an oversimplified narrative of abrupt scientific revolution, her critique ultimately undercuts itself by overestimating the degree to which contemporary mariners were hindered by Mercator's cosmetic concessions to traditional cosmology.

Which of the following best characterizes the author’s attitude toward Rostova’s scholarship on Mercator’s cartographic work?