Galileo's Daughter

Galileo has been credited with the confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, and the observation and analysis of sunspots. He also worked in mathematics and with technology, helping to improve the military compass. Galileo was a renaissance man.

Written near the time of the letter to Madame Christina, the letter was sent to the Holy Office, who at first did not consider it heresy, but later did. Galileo claimed that his publishings on Copernican theory were merely interpretation of data and not theoretical: “through the Scripture cannot err, nevertheless some of its interpreters and expositors can sometimes err in various ways" Nonetheless, the Church imposed their first condemnation of Galileo at this time (Finocchiaro). This sudden change of heart was due to the fact that certain leaders within the church were offended by his so-called interpretation, claiming that it was in actual fact support of Copernican science. There was no proper investigation done as to whether Galileo’s finding held truth, and the Church accused him of going against Scripture without properly understanding the topic of which Galileo spoke (Langford). The Church had failed to see the difference between Catholic and Aristotelian teachings and saw any attack on Aristotle’s philosophy as an attack on the Church. Therefore, under the rule of the Catholic Church, Galileo was no longer allowed to publish nor teach Copernican

Another important figure in the Scientific Revolution was Galileo Galilei. He was an Italian born professor of mathematics who had a great interest in the workings of the universe. Galileo served as a professor at the University of Padua, and it was during this time that he began to question the accuracy of the Churches representation of the world. Galileo’s approach towards knowledge was much different then the afore mentioned Copernicus. Where as Copernicus presented his finding to the mercy of the church, Galileo wrote his conclusions and left the Roman Catholic Church interpret them as they chose. The very nature of his findings pitted him as an opponent of the church.

The author’s main argument in Galileo’s Daughter is that Galileo is more than a scientist and a revolutionist. The book brings him to life, showing that him as a family man and a caring father. The book also looks at how his conflicts with the church affected his life and his family. The book used written letters between Galileo and his daughter Sister Maria Celeste. It gave the book a more personal point of view and actually put you in their life instead of reading a book written from a prospective of a secondary source. The book also looks at the life of Galileo’s daughter as well as Galileo himself. The book makes you view him not only as a great scientist but as loving and caring father as well. The book goes through the life of Galileo talking about his many inventions, his fight with the church and how he got forced to stop teaching and live the rest of his life under house arrest. The book is very factual and very chronological. It talks about Galileo's groundbreaking ideas regarding space, gravity, and philosophy. The book does a great job of bringing Galileo’s conflicts and relationships to life.

Throughout this book Sobel develops many themes including, Galileo’s relationships with his daughter, other family members, and the people of influence in the 17th century.

Scientifically, Galileo will be remembered for invention of the telescope, which allowed astronomers, sailors and other view the heavens and seas, which fed their own theories. He used his own invention to discover the four moons of Jupiter, the mountains and craters of the moon, and sunspots. His work on falling objects led to gravitational studies and mathematical theorems which are on a basic level, physics. Experimentation was used as a means to prove the laws of science along with the mathematical theories. Math, according to Galileo, was the only infallible form of logic. If a mathematical law could be formed from an event, then it was a logical, rational event. His breaking from the Catholic Church, voicing his findings and staying with his convictions broke the traditional way of thinking that the Church was the end all and be all of all things. In the end, he was proven right for most of his beliefs and vindicated for his suppression.

Galileo’s initial divulging into the science world began with a power-hungry family living in Tuscany. To the

Galileo was born in Florence, Italy in 1564 to a poor family but among their people they were considered quite noble. His parents realized that Galileo possessed pronounced intellectual gifts. They made great sacrifices to give Galileo the education that he deserved. At the University of Pisa he studied medicine to grant his father’s wishes, while there he became interested in a wide range of other subjects. Even as a student at the University of Pisa he questioned many of Aristotle’s teachings, therefor, when he began to teach there himself he was left isolated from his fellow professor. Galileo worked at the University of Pisa for three years before he resigned and began his teachings as a math professor at the University of Padua. At that university he was a well-loved professor who attracted large

Prior to Galileo’s time, the Greek and medieval mind, science was a kind of formalism, a means of coordinating data, which had no bearing on the ultimate reality of things. The point was to give order to complicated data, and all that mattered was the hypothesis that was simplest to understand and most convenient. Astronomy and mathematics were regarded as the playthings of intellectuals. They were accounted as having neither philosophical nor theological relevance. There was genuine puzzlement among Churchmen that they had to get involved in a quarrel over planetary orbits.

Vincenzo Galilei and Giulia Ammannati were his parents. His father was a composer and lute player and his musical talents were then passed down to Galileo. Galileo

to have people accept his hypothesis, as a fact is one of the major problems

Galileo’s work connects to my Earth science class in a variety of ways. For example we have received a refrence sheet which includes maps of Earth and the densities of planets. We studied the components which makes up Earth and other planets. For example certain part of earth's layers are made up of specific elements such a iron and nickel. In our sheet we also have another page of the universe, which describes stars.

His discoveries made him infamous in the eyes of the Church and changed how people look at the earth with respect to the Universe. Being so proud of his remarkable discoveries he decided to Duchess Christina. “I discovered in the heavens many things that had not been seen before our own age.” (Ch 16, Doc 4) He writes of his findings and how they were criticized and he was ridiculed for his findings. They denounce his new perception of the world, but Galileo knew that new discoveries would have “consequences” and that people would turn against him.

His passion for scientific truth is at the core of his moral values and he believes his duty as a scientist is to eradicate ignorance and reveal the truth; however when the “instruments of torture” are presented before him, Galileo recants for the sole purpose of preserving his life. The damage done to Galileo’s reputation and his self-respect is demonstrated through his self-acknowledged cowardice which become a source of intense inner conflict. Galileo’s withdrawal leads to what is perhaps the most distressing personal conflict in the play: the exchange between Galileo and his former protégé, Andrea, who has become “his

In 1589, he was back to Pisa and was appointed to the chair of mathematics. Two years later, his father dies and had to support his younger brother. He then moved and taught in the University of Padua. During that time Galileo met Marina Gamba and although he was religious he fathered three children by her without marriage. Because he had two