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Modern Day Philosopher Galileo Galilei

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During this semester, the course has covered many natural philosophers. One of my favorite natural philosopher that we learned about was Galileo Galilei. Galileo himself was a fine example of modern day scientist. He was a physicist, engineer, philosopher, mathematician, and an astronomer. He was basically a modern day scientist. Galileo stood out from the rest of the natural philosophers was because of his massive testicles. Galileo had the audacity to go against the church. At the time, the church was a very powerful establishment. However, Galileo wasn’t afraid of the church. On numerous occasions, Galileo was informed by the church to stop preaching the Copernican theory. After the continuous warning from the church, Galileo continued …show more content…

He wanted to study the heavens, so he built his own telescope. First he studied optics because he didn’t have any knowledge of optics. Then he applied his newly found knowledge of optics and constructed his own telescope. He basically did what any modern day engineers would do. He had a problem, and he figured a way to solve it. In this case, he wanted a telescope but didn’t know anything about mirrors or lens. He spent time researching optics, and then built himself a telescope. Galileo also invented several other instruments such as, the pendulum clock and the sector. Nonetheless, Galileo was a brilliant engineer. He excelled in other areas, such as mathematics and astronomy. Galileo was also very proud and obsessed with his work. He was so obsessed with his work, that he became stubborn. Even when he knew the consequence of his actions would get him in trouble. He continued to publish work on the heliocentric model of the universe. His determination to bring light to the Copernican theory eventually took away his …show more content…

However he does possesses something that most modern day scientists don’t have, which is arrogance. Arrogance is a virtue that no one likes. Modern day scientists are very intelligent people, but they’re not arrogant people. Arrogance is something that can ruin one’s self-image. In Galileo’s case, his self-image of himself was that he was better than everyone. When he wrote the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World, he insulted many people. Galileo purposely named one of the characters, simplicio. Simplicio was the defender for the geocentric model of the universe, At the same time simplicio is a play on word for simpleton. Galileo was practically referring to anyone that supported the geocentric model was a simpleton. Galileo’s play on word had upset many people, especially the church. The Two Chief systems of the World was probably the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The church could no longer tolerate Galileo’s actions anymore, Thus, the church excommunicated Galileo, and he was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. Galileo was a very brilliant man. He had a diverse understanding in many differents fields, such as physics, mathematics, and astronomy. He had every quality of a modern day scientist. He knew a lot about the natural world. The only thing he didn’t know was when to stop. Due to his stubbornness to continue to push the Copernican theory forward. It ultimately

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