Galileo's Daughter Summary

There will always be a battle between religion and science, it is a truth universally acknowledged. Galileo attempted to make the two compatible by suggesting that the truth can only be sought out if the notion under consideration can be accurately tested and if the opposing view can be founded as false. Galileo’s goes into depth about the truth of scripture and the sciences, intertwined with the reason of man, in his letter to Christina of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of

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.

The book really focuses on the conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church, most notably Pope Urban VIII, once

During the Scientific Revolution, in the 17th century, several philosophers began to doubt scientific knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. One of those philosophers, Galileo, discovered a new innovation that could have changed the viewpoint on the Church’s Scripture accuracy. Galileo discovered that the sun stayed still as the Earth revolved around it, which was the opposite of what the Church taught. During this time, it was very dangerous for Galileo to oppose the Church. This was because doubts about the Church would lead to a loss of its power and the people’s trust, which was unwanted.

The Scientific Revolution changed society with the birth of “modern science”; it changed the way people thought about the physical world around them. The same spirit of inquiry that fueled the Renaissance, led scientists to question traditional beliefs about the workings of the universe. The conflict all began with Copernicus’ heliocentric model being introduced to the world- going against the Church’s traditional teachings. Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model of the universe- stating that the sun is the center, and that other planets revolve around it. Despite his calculations, people disagreed and kept on believing in Ptolemy’s geocentric model.

In this piece, Galileo is responding in letter to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany Christina in regards to reports that she had criticized the theories of Copernicus, which Galileo felt was along the correct line of thought for the heliocentric hypothesis. The heliocentric hypothesis was the belief that the planets, including Earth, revolved around the sun, rather than the heavens revolved around Earth. This was greeted with great skepticism by many during this time period with religion still the main focus of civilization. It was with this letter that Galileo attempted to convince the Grand Duchess that her criticism was misplaced and

Galileo was born into a continent wracked by cultural ferment and religious divisions. In the late of 1500s, he saw the last years of the Italian Renaissance, which is a revival of arts and letters that sought the recovery and reworking of classical art and philosophy from ancient Greece and Rome. And on the 15th and 16th centuries, the Renaissance Italy was a center of artistic and intellectual ferment, a home for the great geniuses of the revived humanistic spirit Machiavelli, Da Vinci, Petrarch, Michelangelo, and many more. But the popes also enjoying the peak of their influence, not just the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church during these years, the popes do served as secular leaders as well, and controlling much of central Italy around

“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.

Annotated Bibliography: Galileo Galilei By Mitchell D’India Shea, William R., and Mariano Artigas. Galileo in Rome: The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003. Print. A unique retelling of the six times Galileo traveled into Rome and fought for the theories Copernicus brought forward.

In Galileo’s Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences, the discussion is broken up into multiple days. In the First Day, Galileo, through the dialogue between Simplicio, Sagredo, and Salviati, discusses and exemplifies various topics. They begin by considering scale in mechanics, and then later, infinity, void, and end the day by discussing pendulums and the vibrations of strings. These topics are ultimately main ideas of the text, and are explored through dialogue and proposed practicals. However, the form of the text itself is of as much interest as the subjects, namely the purposes of the dialogue format, the three characters, and whether the form lends or detracts from the general understanding of the text. As a whole, the First Day

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

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.

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,

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

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.