Idealism Formalised in E. A. Milne’s Cosmo(theo)logy

In a series of articles published in the 1930s and in two books, ‘Relativity, Gravitation and World Structure’ of 1935 (Milne 1935) and ‘Kinematic Relativity of 1948’ (Milne 1948), E. A. Milne created a deductive physical science from purely a priori principles, and developed from it a ‘kinematic’ cosmology, alternative to relativistic ones. A source of virulent controversy with ‘orthodox’ science since its inception, Milne’s work seems to have fallen into oblivion after his untimely death. However, it cannot be written off as an extravagance in the history of cosmology: heir to a tradition that runs through the entire history of Western thought, his influence, though subterranean, has not been insignificant or ephemeral. This essay aims to show some of its most peculiar aspects.