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galileo point of view in science
regarding galileo's astronomical writings the catholic church
galileo's advancements in science
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Stillman Drake, the author of Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, describes Galileo's opposition as “... professors who regarded the new method as injuries to philosophy and by priests who believed the new criterion of truth to be inimical to religion.” Drake is accurate in his statement that the opposition put forward by Galileo's accusers was regarded as an injury to philosophy, but Galileo's opposition focused primarily on the need to check unbridled spirits about the judgment and interpretation of holy scripture; in addition Galileo's opposition and defense also had undeniable scientific and epistemological aspects. Moreover I argue that Galileo in return created an argument that focused upon his belief that scientific discovery should not be held in the jurisdiction of the catholic church, that the core of Galileo's argument revolves around his belief that the components of a new “scientific method” and the new criterion of truth should not be held under church scrutiny.
During a time of protestant reformation, the Catholic Church convened the Council of Trent (1545-1563) in order to maintain orthodoxy among the people. The Catholics primarily focused on traditional and appropriate individuals of the church to interpret holy scripture whereas the protestant reformation preached individual pluralistic interpretation, thus threatening the catholic church and causing the church to become highly sensitive. (12) In the year 1954, the council decreed that “...no one relying on his own judgment shall, in matters of faith and morals pertaining to edification of Christian doctrine, distorting the Holy Scriptures in accordance with his own conceptions, presume to interpret them contrary to that sense which holy mother Chur...
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...s reply to Ingoli (1624), eight years after the Inquisitions verdict, remained devote on his belief that scientific discovery should not be at the jurisdiction of the Catholic church since he boldly stated to Ingoli that “...I must tell you that in natural phenomena human authority is worthless.” (178)
Throughout his entire defense Galileo argued that natural phenomena and scientific discovery should not be under the church’s jurisdiction. Galileo's magnificent discovery gave way to the everlasting feud of religion versus nature, the new criterion of truth, the new scientific method, scientific independence, and ultimately the foundation of humans natural inalienable rights. By defending his beliefs Galileo was able to convey his message by means of science, religion, and philosophy and ultimately paved the road for future scientists and moral philosophers.
Galileo had heard about the theories that the previous scientists had stated. Galileo wanted to see if what they were saying was accurate. To prove the heliocentric theory he invented the telescope in the year 1609 that help to confirm that it was in fact the heliocentric model instead of what everyone believed which was the geocentric model. Galileo started to share his discoveries to the public, but stopped after the Church told him not to share the information. (Doc ) However, the timeline indicates that Galileo waited seventeen years before sharing the information again publicly, so he actually obeyed the Church’s request for a very long time. Galileo was a devoted Catholic and strongly believed in the words of the Bible. In a letter written in 1615 written by Galileo to the duchess of Tuscany Galileo he stated how the Bible can sometime be misunderstood,“ But [he] believe that nobody will deny that the Bible is often very complex, and may say things which are quite different from what its bare words signify…”(document A). Galileo wanted to convince the Duchess that perhaps the evidence he gathered could be used to interpret the sun’s placement as the Bible was difficult to understand at times. The fact that Galileo was so religious validated his reliability, because he would have favored the Bible over his theory. He only argued about this one concept from the Bible and he had physical evidence and support from other scientists to prove his
During the Scientific Revolution, the struggle between faith and reason was exhibited through Galileo and his discoveries. The Catholic Church during the time period of the Scientific Revolution did not approve of any outside scientists who came up with new theories and observations. The Church believed that all information about how the world worked was in the bible and that was the only right source. In an excerpt from “What is Scientific Authority?” written by Galileo in 1615, it states, “Showing a greater fondness for their [Catholic Church’s] own opinions than for truth, they sought to deny & disprove the new things which, if they had cared to look for themselves, their own senses would have demonstrated to them…” Galileo Galilei himself knew that the Church was not willing to approve of new ideas from other scientists, but only from the teachings in the Bible. Later on in the excerpt, Galileo writes, “They [Catholic Church] hurled various charges &…made the grave mistake of sprinkling these with passages taken from places in the Bible which they had failed to understand properl...
Initiated by Pope Paul III to condemn and refute protestant beliefs, it would eventually lay the principles of catholicism for four centuries. They were able to condemn the reformation by approving the Index of Forbidden Books, which would punish anyone who possessed a list of books that supported Protestantism or were critical of the church in Catholic Countries. They defended their religion through scriptures and other traditions. It would eventually acknowledge and curtail the abuses in sale of indulgences, sale of church offices, give bishops more power from clergy, and establish seminaries to train priests. The Council of Trent existed to condemn protestants in order to protect their faith, but in turn would have to decrease some of their
After reading this letter I feel that Galileo had a very opinionated outlook on life and was heavily involved in a struggle for freedom of inquiry. Galileo was a person who had many strong beliefs and would not let people or a document have a say in what he believes.
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...
...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.
which the Church had found no fault until Galileo had started to present it as reality, was
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.
The Scientific Revolution, during the 16th and 18th centuries, was a time of conflict. It was not a hand-to-hand martial conflict. It was a conflict of advancement, similar to the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union. However, it was between the thinkers of the Scientific Revolution, such as Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, and the Roman Catholic Church. At the time, the Catholic Church was the most powerful religious body in Europe. It controlled everything from education to faith to finances. Thinkers like Galileo took the risk and went against the church. This is shown through the documents below. Those documents tell the story of Galileo and how he was forced to revoke his support of heliocentrism by the church. The documents below also show the struggle between faith and reason that existed during this era of advancement by hindering the flourishment of the sciences by stating that it did not agree with the Bible and naming these early scientists as heretics.
This caused a lot of deaths during the Reformation period because the Catholic church decided to prosecute people for following and listening to what Luther had taught them about the real Catholic Teachings. The Council of Trent was a way to stop the teachings of Catholic traditions and state clearly the renewal of the Catholic life. The work of the council was concerned with the organisation of the Church. A seminary was going to be set up for the education of priests in each diocese. During the reformation a Catechism which is a clear summary of Catholic beliefs was set out to help reform the order of Mass throughout the Catholic world which priests then helped educate and teach this understanding to Catholics. Indulgence selling was abolished which means that it was no longer a way for the Church to scavenge money and the infamous Inquisition was
To speak out against the Church in this time was strictly taboo. If one spoke against the Church, it was considered heresy, which is exactly what happened to Galileo. Galileo invented the telescope and began studying the heavens above and noticed changes within the stars and planets. He observed that the "stars" that surrounded Jupiter moved. He came to the conclusion through rational thinking that Copernicus' heliocentric theory was correct.
The conflict between religion and science was one of the major issues of the enlightenment. New theories were being developed (like Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation) which went against the teachings of the c...
...wever, in the best interest of advancing education and an enlightened society, science must be pursued outside of the realm of faith and religion. There are obvious faith-based and untestable aspects of religion, but to interfere and cross over into everyday affairs of knowledge should not occur in the informational age. This overbearing aspect of the Church’s influence was put in check with the scientific era, and the Scientific Revolution in a sense established the facet of logic in society, which allows us to not only live more efficiently, but intelligently as well. It should not take away from the faith aspect of religion, but serve to enhance it.
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).
The Scientific Revolution was a controversial and revolutionary era of improvement and changes that transformed peoples’ views of science and ways of thinking. It was an emergence of modern science during the late 18th century, which was contributed to by scientists such as Copernicus and Galileo. Society was still heavily dominated and influenced by religion at the time, so people had trouble adjusting to the newfound facts. Developments in math and sciences wouldn’t have been able to transform views of society and nature without sparking controversies with the Church. The Church censored Copernicus and Galileo's theories not only because it threatened the traditional view of the world, but also because there was a personal conflict between Galileo and the Church.