Final answer:
Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model which placed the Sun at the center of the solar system, offering a simpler and more elegant explanation for planetary motion than the geocentric model upheld by Aristotle and Plato.
Step-by-step explanation:
Did Copernicus' system explain the motion of the planets more precisely and more naturally than Aristotle and Plato did? Nicolaus Copernicus challenged the longstanding geocentric model that held Earth at the center of the universe, as previously endorsed by thinkers like Aristotle and Plato.
Aristotle's geocentric view was grounded in philosophical traditions and endorsed by the Catholic Church at the time, favoring reasoning and divine revelation over empirical observations. The geocentric system, particularly the model by Ptolemy, involved complex structures with dozens of circles to explain planetary motion, seen as circles within circles, which was considered both reasonable and beautiful in its era.
Although with some adjustments the Ptolemaic system could have accounted for planetary motions, Copernicus criticized it for being clumsy and lacking symmetry. Instead, he proposed the heliocentric model, placing the Sun at the center of the solar system—a simpler and more elegant system. This model was supported by subsequent findings from Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, who further refined our understanding of planetary motion. Kepler's laws demonstrated that planets move in ellipses, not the perfect circles assumed by Greek philosophers, providing a more precise explanation compared to the older geocentric models.