Galileo Galilei, born February 15th 1564 in the town of Pisa, a man who played a significant role in the Scientific Revolution, he was a man of many talents as he was not only an artist, astronomer and engineer he was also a philosopher, mathematician and physicist to name a few. One of his most outstanding improvements were those made to the telescope, although Galileo’s observations, made using the telescope, would be one that would arouse much attention and create a great controversy. Galileo the eldest of six children was born in Pisa in 1564, several years later his family moved to Florence, he was then educated under the Camaldolese Monastery at Vallombrosa a town southeast of Florence. As a young man he continued his studies at the University of Pisa studying mathematics, and moving on to teach; geometry, mechanics, and astronomy at the University of Padua. During this time Galileo had made several phenomenal astrological discoveries such as: the phases of Venus, discovery of Jupiter’s satellites and the observation of sun spots to name a few. In the year 1612 controversy arose regarding the heliocentric or Sun-centered universe which Galileo advocated alongside the evidence made by astronomist Nicholas Copernicus. Galileo was aware of the position of the greater population of the people and where they stood in terms of their opinions on this matter. The geocentric system of the universe had been presented and was accepted since the time of Aristotle. The Catholic Church believed the geocentric system to be true because there was literary evidence in Scripture. From 1614 the Roman Catholic Church began to judge Galileo’s discoveries and his proposition of the heliocentric system to be false and nearly heretical. F... ... middle of paper ... ...spect of heresy, namely of having held opinions that the Sun lies motionless at the center of the universe and that the Earth rotates around.” All of Galileo’s books were banned and forbidden. In conclusion, the Galileo controversy was handled in a manner that was for the good and sanity of the world at the time. The Church took into consideration the consequences and the evidence presented on either side, since Galileo failed to show enough evidence to prove his statement to be true the Church attempted to eliminate any uproar or confusion for the people. Galileo was a very intelligent and enlightened man who did not have sufficient evidence to clearly prove his theory to be true, although the Catholic Church did not handle the situation with great ease or uproar; she acted upon reason which was justifiable and with the consideration of future consequences.
In 1615, Galileo Galilei wrote the Letter to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. The purpose of the letter was to persuade the duchess of Tuscany, Christina of the validity behind the Copernican theory.To defend the Copernican theory, Galileo argues that theology shouldn’t be involved with the sciences. This is one of the arguments that sparked the debate of what we know today, as science versus religion.
Galileo’s contributions to the science of Physics and Astronomy were many. His conviction was legendary. His willingness to suffer for his beliefs exemplify true courage in the name of truth, and has inspired others to venture intellectual independence from the Church‘s creeds, edicts, and proclamations. Perhaps these contributions led to the call for an investigation into Galileo's conviction, eventually calling for its reversal, in 1979 by Pope John Paul II. But regardless of his standing in the annals of the Catholic church he will always be the man who began the separation of science and religion.
Galileo received harsh criticism for this theory since it went against the church’s beliefs and teachings. In his letter to Madame Cristina de Lorena, Galileo explains he thought the clergymen were “displaying greater affection for their own opinions than for true ones” meaning that they too intolerant to accept the truth found in science. Instead of embracing theories developed through experimentation, Galileo claimed the priests hid behind the Scripture without providing proof of its claims. Religious figureheads believed that since the bible said that the Earth revolves around the Sun, Galileo was going against the bible and God. However, Galileo maintained that the bible should be read symbolically since its claims are clearly not scientifically true. Galileo insisted that the bible was written in such a way so that everyone would be able to understand it through figurative lessons and explanations and thus should not be interpreted
Galileo Galilei was born in the City of Pisa on February 15, 1564. Sir Galileo is the oldest out of his seven siblings (Hightower 10-11). The father of his, is a musician and a wool trader ("Galileo Galilei" par 1-3). As a boy he enjoyed music and painting. He was very intelligent for this age and he constructed mechanical toys for his own merriment (Hightower 10-11). His studies started at a Jesuit Monastery about at age eleven. By the time of age seven-teen he told his father that he wanted to be a monk. Due to his father's wishes he went to medical school, taken out because he didn't want Galileo as a monk ("Galileo Galilei" par 1-3). While in medical school he did poorly and thought his classes were boring. Later he dropped out and studied science and math with many people (Lauber par 3-4). Then he studied much more objects in his lifetime and loved to learn (Hightower 10-14). Soon he achieved this college education but didn’t get a degree (“Galileo Galilei” par 1-3).
Galileo was an Italian astronomer, who lived from 1564 to 1642. In 1609, Galileo learned of the telescope, which is controversially
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.
which the Church had found no fault until Galileo had started to present it as reality, was
And so while the good of Galileo may seem rather subtle and irrelevant to most of us and not nearly as direct and blatant as that of others in history, the impression he laid on humanity is not to be downplayed in any way. There’s a reason he is known as “the father of modern physics/astronomy.” Had Galileo not been such a diligent character with the determination to help society truly understand the world, many other great minds who may not have been quite as brave as to oppose the Church as he was could potentially not have ever shared their works and wouldn't even be a part of history as it’s known today. Without them and Galileo, there’s no telling where technology and science would be and what conceivably could be lacking in this modern age.
In his Letter to The Grand Duchess Christina, Galileo challenged the widely accepted religious beliefs of the time, claiming that the conflict lies in their interpretation, not the context. In Galileo’s eyes science was an extremely useful tool that could and should have been used in interpreting the Scriptures. He argued that “the intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven not how heaven goes” (Grand Duchess). The purpose of science was not to counter what the bible teaches; rather its purpose was to help explain the teachings of the scriptures. Furthermore, it was “prudent to affirm that the holy Bible can never speak untruth-whenever its true meaning is understood” (Grand Duchess). However, because of the terminology in which the bible was presented the perception of what the Scripture defined as truth was skewed. The Bible was written so that the common man could understand it and follow its commandments. The people also showed a greater inte...
Moreover, Pope Urban had affirmed that God had limited man’s understanding of the universe but Galileo had different thoughts. According to him, God gave man the explicit mandate to reason and discover the world. This statement was contrary to the belief that the Pope was not supposed to be disputed but Galileo had just done that. He was thus arrested and after trial, he was fo...
...cided to condemn Galileo’s work. While it does not discredit God’s power or the Bible, the overall tone of the scientist’s letter is quite sarcastic towards the clergy. While defending his first argument, Galileo appears to undermine the intellectual capabilities of his opponents. He implies that those who interpret the Holy Writ word for word belong to the “common people” whom he describes as “rude and unlearned”, and that other “wise expositors” should be the ones who search for the true meaning of the Bible. Galileo makes a similar implication while presenting his second argument, when he writes that the purpose of the Holy Scriptures is “infinitely beyond the comprehension of the common people”. The Catholic Church likely viewed these claims as an attempt to weaken its authority, which would explain why Galileo’s discoveries were condemned for nearly 300 years.
Galileo's objections to using the bible where very clear. He objected to using the bible as a source of knowledge of physical things because it would not always speak the truth on the surface. He feels that the truth and meaning lie underneath what is actually written down on the page. He believes we must use our senses God gave us to find the truth in the bible. He thinks the bible leads us to the abandonment of reason and our senses.
Galileo Galilei was an Italian philosopher born in 1564. As an adult, he didn’t believe the universal geocentric theory of the planets and heavens which was established by the Catholic Church. The church taught that the Earth was the center of the universe and everything revolved around our planet. Another theory that the Church supported was that the Earth stood still while the sun rose and set every day. Society in the 1500’s believed that the Pope spoke for God through a divine connection and to against the church was to go against God. To speak out against the church in this time was strictly taboo. If one was to speak against the church was considered to be heresy, which is exactly what happened to Galileo. Galileo invented the telescope and began studying the heavens above and noticed that changes within the stars and planets. He noticed that the “stars” that surrounded Jupiter moved. He came to the conclusion through rational thinking, that the Copernicus’ heliocentric theory was correct. Copernicus was a scientist and philosopher whose theory proposed that the sun was stationary and the heavens orbit around the sun. Galileo tried to convince the church not to aboli...
Galileo in his letter to the Grand Duchess Christina states “If I am not mistaken they would extend such authorities until even in purely physical matters- where faith is not involved,” (Galileo as quoted in Spielvogel, 485). Galileo is stating that the church would continue to expand their authority until they have total control over all knowledge. If they were to control the knowledge, they could get rid of anything that might threaten the legitimacy of the bible. Galileo backs that up when he says “They would have us altogether abandon reason and the evidence of our senses in favor of some biblical passage, though under the surface mean of its words this passage may contain a different sense” (Galileo as quoted in Spielvogel, 485).
Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15th, 1564. His father, Vincenzo was a music teacher and musician. After his family moved to Florence, Galilei was sent to a monastery to be educated. He was so happy there that he decided to become a monk, but his father wanted him to be a medical doctor and brought him home to Florence. He was never really interested in medicine and studied mathematics at the University of Pisa. He was especially interested in famous mathematicians like Euclid (geometry) and Archimedes. In fact in 1586 he wrote his first book about one of Archimedes theories. He eventually became head of mathematics at the University of Pisa where he first wrote about a very important idea that he developed. It was about using experiments to test theories. He wrote about falling bodies in motion using inclined planes to test his theories.