Galileo Essay

Galileo is concerned with obtaining the truth about the world we live in, whether religion provides an answer or science. This is evident in the letter when he is discussing the “celestial bodies” concerning the work of Copernicus. Galileo believes that it would be wholly unjustified to ban Copernicus’ work after it has been confirmed over the years, he puts it: “in my judgement to be a contravention of the truth” if this were to occur. Basically Galileo believes if something is true, the basis of the truth either, religious or scientific is equally creditable. He further states that if scientific fact is unattainable, it must be a thing of faith and religion; “where human reasoning cannot reach” and there “is no science but only opinion of faith” the truth must be in the Scripture. This is demonstrated in the letter “whether the stars are animate” or “whether or not the heavens are spherical”. Galileo believes that ultimately that the science behind a phenomena will

The Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany was written by Galileo Galilei in 1615. Galileo was an Italian scientist that began making new discoveries in the heavens in 1609. He discovered many things that did not coincide with the teaching of the church.

In 1633 the Vatican put a famous astronomer under house arrest. His name was Galileo Galeli, and he was one of the most talented scientists to ever walk the face of the earth. Galileo was an early pioneer in the field of physics and astronomy, and played an important role in the scientific revolution of the 17th century.

An important thing to remember is that is the 16th and 17th centuries, there was no separation between State and the Church. Most/all rules in the State had to do something with the Bible and how it had been interpreted, and it anyone had opposed the ideas of the Bible, they would not only get punished by the church, but also by the State. This made it laborious to try to prove an idea with science, just as Galileo was trying to do. Not even the smallest accusation about the church was taken lightly, “As you know, the Council [of Trent] prohibits interpreting the Scriptures contrary to the common agreement of the holy Fathers.” (Document B). At this point Galileo had only just started his discoveries, and sharing them with the public and church. Even though Galileo never explicitly vocalized that the scriptures were wrong, just by throwing the idea out that the Earth revolved around the Sun, caused disagreement from the Church and State. The timing that Galileo started to speak about his discoveries and thoughts about the universe was not the best. He started to say his ideas only a little after Bruno. Galileo supported Bruno’s idea on how the universe worked. This was probably not the best idea for Galileo, considering that Bruno had been burned to death in 1600, for the popular belief that he was going against the Bible. The main difference between

Galileo’s findings from his telescopic observations were revolutionary because he showed that the heavens were not perfect.

Galileo Galilei, a distinguished polymath that contributed to the commence of modern sciences was accounted to be a heretic. In the year, 1609, the astronomer proposed a new theory reckoned as heliocentrism, the idea that claims that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. His theory contradicted the belief of the Catholic Church who under the influence of the Bible, believed in the theory geocentrism, therefore accounting him as a heretic. Galileo Galilei is not a heretic because his theories were based on clear empirical observations, that scientifically proved his ideas. Galileo Galilei was believed to be a heretic for opposing the belief of the Catholic Church, despite him being scientifically correct.

Galileo was the first European to make systematic observations of the heavens through his improved invention of the telescope. Through his telescope, Galileo made a series of discoveries. Galileo’s observations demolished among the traditional cosmology of what the universe seemed to be composed of. Not only did Galileo make astonishing discoveries, but he was also offered a new position from Grand Duke Cain II of Florence, as his court mathematician. During this time, Galileo was told that he could continue to discuss Copernicanism, as long as he would maintain everything as mathematical supposition, and not as facts. Due to the Inquisitions response, the church attacked the Copernican system since it threaten the Scripture and its’ entire conception of the universe. The new system rose'd much uncertainty that seemed as prudent to simply condemn it. In 1633, Galileo was found guilty of teaching the condemned Copernican system and was then forced to be placed under house arrest. He spent the remaining eight years of life studying mechanics. The principal of motion was the one of the problems that fell under the heading of mechanics. At the end, Galileo made two contributions to the problem of motion. He demonstrated by experimenting uniform force to accelerate

“Men who were grounded in astronomical and physical science were persuaded as soon as they received my first message…” (30). Others took longer to come to terms with Galileo’s work due to how different it was from what they had come to believe. And, some were so stuck in their ways that they refused to look at the evidence and denied the truth at all cost.

In the history of the Catholic Church, no episode is so contested by so many viewpoints as the condemnation of Galileo. The Galileo case, for many, proves the Church abhors science, refuses to abandon outdated teachings, and is clearly not infallible. For staunch Catholics the episode is often a source of embarrassment and frustration. Either way it is undeniable that Galileo’s life sparked a definite change in scientific thought all across Europe and symbolised the struggle between science and the Catholic Church.

Even though Galileos beliefs were held in practicing Catholicsim, his writings were showing evidence for “Copernican heliocentrism.” The Catholic Church, however, disapproved of heliocentricity, feeling that it was contrary to the statements in the Bible: if God created human beings as His supreme creation, He would place man at the center of His cosmos. (At that time the more literal Biblical interpretation was prevalent with the church fathers, especially among the Dominican Order, facilitators of the Inquisition)2 However, real power layed with the Church, and Galileo's arguments were most fiercely fought on the religious level. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine insisted that Galileo furnish more adequate proof of his new theories before he would be allowed to teach them as true or even as probably true.

While Galileo holds little respect for those who take Aristotle’s theories at face value, he shows no lack of respect for the great philosopher himself. Galileo applauds the fact that Aristotle’s works are examined and closely studied, and “only blame(s) submitting to him in such a way that one blindly subscribes to all his assertions and accepts them as unquestionable dictates” (200). Galileo’s arguments for heliocentrism would convince any layman of their truth, but his opponents are so set in their ways that they would be unwilling to even listen to his concepts. When an opponent relies on ancient words and does not use ration to come to their beliefs, it is impossible to use ration to convince them otherwise. Galileo, in his effort to contest what his opponents consider incontestable,

for people to accept. But when the actual facts are looked at it is very easy

In summer of 1609, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) pointed his revolutionary astronomical telescope to the heavens under the starry Venetian sky; his greatly important observations unveiled the mysteries of universe and would end up changing the course of scientific thought forever. Galileo lived in an age where there was much status quo, when scientists and philosophers would accept scientific and religious doctrine that had stood for hundreds, if not thousands, of years instead of challenging the accepted knowledge in favor of intellectual progress. Galileo’s scientific methods lead to significant discoveries explaining key scientific laws, such as the

This document shows the sort of plea that Galileo gives to the Duchess in hope of some kind of sympathy and to prove that his new concepts are not being accepted and also that he’s being accused for the wrong reasons. And he could also be trying to impress her in way, like in the first sentence he writes, “Some years ago, as Your Serene Highness well knows, I discovered in

He was an Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, and engineer who played a large role in the scientific revolution (1564-1642). Galileo was often faced with controversial arguments about his findings. Based on the shared knowledge of the Catholic Church, it tried to compress the personal knowledge of Galileo. This is where the idea of personal and shared knowledge shaping each other comes into perspective, as Galileo was continuously faced with the knowledge of the Church. Continuously his personal knowledge was rejected, because shared knowledge had such an influence among the people. His hypothesis frightened both the Protestant leaders and Catholic Church because it went against their teachings and authority. If people believed that the church could be wrong about this, they would question the church teachings as well. The Church warned Galileo of his theories, however silently he continued to research. The Church's greatest fear was that Galileo's personal knowledge would ultimately change the shared knowledge of the Church. In 1632, he published a book which presented both of the ideas of Copernicus and Ptolemy, and it was clear that Galileo supported the Copernican theory which stated that the Earth moved around the Sun. Galileo was sentenced to court and found guilty. Under torture, he admitted his findings were false. Only in 1992, the Catholic Church