Galileo And Copernicus And Galileo

Ptolemy, a Roman astronomer came up with the theory that the universe revolved around Earth and all the creatures inhabiting it (Doc. C). This theory, The Geocentric Universe of Ptolemy, was adjusted by most of the people during The Middle Ages. However, much later on, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, disagreed with Ptolemy’s theory. With his use of math and reason, he came up with a new theory called The Heliocentric Universe of Copernicus (Doc. C). He said that the universe & Earth itself revolves around the sun. The Church denied this theory because they did not want to be proven wrong. If the Church was wrong about this part of the universe, this would then cause man to wonder what else they could be wrong about, or even lied to them about. This new theory taught men to think for themselves and not to rely on the Church for

In concordance with Christian doctrines, this system implies that heaven and the throne of God lie beyond the tenth sphere. On the other hand, during the first half of the 16th century, Polish cleric Copernicus developed an astronomical model which positions the motionless Sun at the center of the universe, with the Earth, the moon, and six other planets revolving at a constant speed around it. He argues that all stars were at rest and that their nightly movements are simply indications of the earth’s rotation. However, members of the Church, especially Protestants, who interpreted the Bible literally, refused to grant Copernicus credit for his theory. Nevertheless, once released among the population, the Copernican theory raised support from various scholars, a few of whom, such as Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo, went on to dedicate their career to solidify its legitimacy. With their use of mathematical reasoning, instead of antic philosophy, the Copernican theory finally became justified among the population. Pertaining to its influence among laypeople, the Copernican theory raised various questions against the

Galileo Galilei was a very influential and controversial astronomer, scientist, mathematician, teacher, and physicist. His life began in the sixteenth century and ended in the seventeenth, in which he penned several books that supported the Copernican theory of a heliocentric solar system. In the words of Drake S. (1957) “... the works of Galileo are well written, and throw light upon the origins of modern science…”(Pg. 2) Although Galileo was soon deemed a heretic by the Roman Catholic church, he continued diligently challenging Aristotelian thought and doctrine and expressing his support of the Copernican theory. As he continued to make discoveries that supported this theory, the church continued to label him as a heretic, and eventually

His more relaxed viewpoint on the interpretations of the Bible and scripture allowed him to accept the Copernican theory. He even justified his stance through principals. The first principle was called biblical limitation. “I should judge that the authority of the Bible was designed to persuade men of these articles and propositions which, by science, or by any other means than through the very mouth of the Holy Spirit.” This principle overall explained that the bible could only be understood and interpreted correctly by the Holy Mother Mary. This gave a justification against claims from previous scholars such as St. Aquinas and St. Augustine. These two scholars took ideas for the overall argument from interpretations of the Bible made from either themselves or those before them. Therefore, Galileo believed that the interpretations were false. This allowed for science to not come in conflict with Catholicism as no one truly understood it. Another principle was the priority of physical demonstration. This principle stressed more on the empirical evidence before scriptural evidence. For this principle, Galileo focused primarily on nature and this allowed him to protect the concept of the Copernican theory from the bible. Since he used empirical evidence on nature, it allowed him to determine that the sun was at the center of the universe. Thus, observation, a major part of scientific

During the time of Galileo, the church was very strict with physicists who believed in the Copernican model. This is exactly the position that Galileo found himself in. In 1600 Galileo began making his own telescope. He became the first person to point one at the night sky. What staggered him the most by doing this was the sheer volume of stars that were not visible with the naked eye. Galileo used his telescope to make many discoveries; one of these is the discovery of Jupiter’s four moons. He even plotted and tracked there rotations around Jupiter. The main thing however, was that Jupiter even had moons, this was proof that the geocentric model was incorrect and that this discovery was in favour of the Copernican model.

Furthermore, in discussing the conflict between the Church and scientists such as Galileo, it must be noted that both parties held themselves to be unquestionably correct in the argument, because they both based themselves in what they believed to be irrefutable truth. The Church viewed the holy

These intellectuals significantly influenced the world leaders and institutions of the time, although the Catholic Church refused to accept most of the newly discovered scientific laws/theories as legitimate, as they opposed the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic faith. An example of the bigotry of the Catholic Church in this time, is the persecution of Galileo Galilei, which occurred due to his discoveries regarding a heliocentric solar system conflicting with the geocentric views of the Church. This conflict of beliefs led to the Church convicting Galileo of heresy, sentencing him to banishment, despite ample amounts of evidence and the approval of a variety of intellectuals supporting his

The Catholic Counter-Reformation called into being by the Council of Trent, emphasized orthodoxy and fidelity to the true Church. But the new religious order to call the Jesuits or Society of Jesus, that arose to act upon these principles, and now stood at the vanguard of the battle with Protestant heresy. Galileo and his study of astronomy, would figure at the center of this clash. Indeed, to the casual observer, it seemed common sense that the sun "rose" in the morning and "set" at night, in its circling pattern around the earth. Thus buttressed by common sense the ancient philosophers and the Church geocentricity seemed secure in its authority. The Ptolemy had worked out the geocentric system of brilliant geometric precision, but this system of interlocking orbits grew ever more complex as astronomers strained to make more modern observations fit a mistaken theory. And in the 16th century the theory began to fall under attack. But by the end of the 16th century astronomers like Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and had begun to embrace

Copernicus and Galileo were two men who contributed to new beliefs and theories about the earth, and disagreed with beliefs that were over 2000 years old. Both questioned the view of the earth being geocentric. However, in this time the Roman Catholic Church was ruling and did not agree with these new theories, most likely due to . Because of this Galileo and Copernicus has to stay true to their beliefs and stick it out till their minds were changed. Individuals change their minds because of new evidence provided causing a better outlook on things, in this case Galileo's and Copernicus' findings of the world eventually changed the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church.

Galileo Galilei was also a supporter of the Copernican Theory. Galileo believed the earth, and other planets, rotated on its axis around the unmoving sun. He used his new invention of the telescope to prove Copernicus’ theory. With the telescope, Galileo found sunspots on the earth’s moon, which gave proof to him that the heavens were not perfect and changeless but were more like the changeable earth. iv He also discovered Jupiter and the four moons that revolved around it. He only discovered one moon revolving around the earth. Galileo therefore stated if Jupiter were to revolve around the earth, then the earth would have to have at least four moons, and it doesn’t. v The Church objected Galileo’s theory because the Bible said the sun moved through the sky. Being totally rejected by the church, Galileo was forced to take back what he had written and was also prevented from any further teachings of his theory. Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church for his ideas. The Church succeeded in silencing Galileo but couldn’t stop the advancements in science.

Due to that, many philosophers have tried to search for a way to reconcile the differences in harmony. The author then shifted his focus on Galileo case and explain that the main point in Galileo case (on sun-center the universe but not the earth-center as the church interpreted from the bible), was to seek for the knowledge of nature and Bible in harmony but in not in conflict. He further explain that Galileo was in support of the view that bible teaches on salvation, that is how to go to heaven, but not how the heaven go. Knowledge of Natural world on the other hand, deals with empirical observation and reasoned demonstration. The case according to the author was rule in a political manner and Galileo was guilty and prosecuted. His friend, Pope urban VIII, turned against him. The author ended the chapter by explaining that, histories have shown that Galileo case was an argument about “enduring question of authority to produce and deliver knowledge. The church inquisitor saw Galileo’s claim as a threat to their beliefs and a challenge to their authority of power of give knowledge that why they found he

Over two centuries ago the Catholic Church tried Galileo, because he published his book in 1632 that supported the heliocentric ideas that originated from Copernicus. The church claimed that the heliocentric theory went against scripture. During this time the Catholic Church believed in the idea that the Earth was at the center of the universe. This was called the geocentric theory, which had been around for nearly 1500 years. Galileo was tried less than a year later in 1633. The trial was private, because the church feared the community would support him, because he was one of the most achieved astronomers of their time. The church’s committee unanimously voted that his book, the Two Chief World Systems violated his

Galileo’s book “The Dialogue on the Two Great World Systems” is a 1632 book written by Galileo in Italian in which he compares the Copernican system to the Ptolemaic system. In this book, Galileo baldly (some said at the time recklessly) advocated the heliocentric / Copernican world view, contrasting it to the prevailing geocentric / Ptolomeic model. In order to obtain permission to publish, Galileo made a promise to religious authorities (including his supporter Pope Urban VIII) he would present heliocentrism as a hypothetical. The reason Galileo made the promise is because his views contradict passages of the Bible which refer to the earth as stationary and the sun orbiting. After the publication of the book, the Roman Inquisition found

During the fifteenth century, the Catholic church was the authority on scientific knowledge. The Catholic church taught geocentrism, the belief that the sun revolves around the earth. Galileo, an Italian scientist at the time dared to challenge the Catholic church. He made a number of observations which proved that the geocentric model, a model taught and widely circulated by the church was wrong. His observations showed that the heliocentric model, a model proposed by Copernicus which states that the earth revolves around the sun, was correct. For standing up and questioning the church, Galileo was suspected of heresy and as such, he was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life.

The Catholic Church played an important role at the time when all the works in which the movement of the earth was admitted, Catholics were forbidden to teach, and even read, the Copernican theories. The “Copernican Theory” modeled some problems of enormous importance for Christian’s obviously theological nature. Leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin told us that Scripture brandished against Nicolaus Copernicus and provoked repression against its followers, but generally abandon the fight Protestantism once the “Theories of Copernicus” were confirmed with indisputable evidence. In this paper, I will first evaluate the history about how “Copernican Theory” and its model of the earth came into existence. I will also analyze the “Copernican Theory” in light of Churches idea of the earth being flat. I will ultimately argue that Nicolaus Copernicus played an important role in the history of Philosophy of Science.