Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was a believer of Copernicus's heliocentric theory. His discovery of the telescope (1609) allowed him to confirm the theory and his own beliefs. Galileo was first criticized by Friar Lorini. The Friar said that Copernicus's theory violated the scripture. Galileo responded with the Letter to Castelli, hoping it will give back some hope and trust in science. However, it did the opposite, and Lorini, sent a copy of the letter to the Inquisition (1615). On February 1616, Galileo was warned by Cardinal Bellarmine to keep quiet of his ideas or else stronger measures would be taken.…
Anti-Catholics often cite the Galileo case as an example of the Church refusing to abandon outdated or incorrect teachings. People believe that Galileo proved that the Copernican belief was true, unfortunately this was not the case. He could not answer the strongest argument against it, which was made by Aristotle. The question that he could not answer was if the Copernican belief were true, then there would be observable shifts in the star’s positions as the Earth moved in its orbit around the Sun. Unfortunately in Galileo’s time the technology was not advanced enough at the time. The evidence at the time shows that the stars were fixed in their positions relative to the Earth. Despite Galileo not being able to prove the Copernican, he had…
The Church had a great deal of control over science at this point in history, as shown by Galileo’s…
Galileo was an Italian who proved Copernicus’ heliocentricity theory with highly accurate math. However, the Catholic Church didn’t like this and forced him to go in front of an audience and say that he lied. If he didn’t he would be excommunicated or killed.…
In Galileo’s letter to Castelli, Galileo explores the validity of the many interpretations of the Holy Scripture. Galileo states that if the “Holy Scripture can never lie or err and that its declarations are absolutely and inviolably true,” but its interpretations are not always true. He also states that taking the text literally would create not only “contradictions, but also serious heresies and blasphemies”. Galileo explains since Scripture is a dictation of the Holy Spirit has to be dictated in such a way to reach all types of people, not just the highly informed intellectuals. Scripture must also be written to persuade individuals to want to seek out salvation. Additionally, some of its interpreters can make mistakes and alter the true meaning of the scripture based on their own line of thought. Therefore, individuals cannot assume that “all interpreters speak by divine interpretation” and are revealing the absolute truth.…
The Copernican Theory is a theory that was developed by Nicolaus Copernicus that stated that the Sun was positioned near the center of the Universe and that the planets rotated around it. Supporting the Copernican Theory, Galileo wrote a letter to a student that went to the university that he once had taught at, stating that the Copernican theory did not go against the passages in the bible. The letter to the student was made public, and the Catholic church saw it. In 1616, the church demanded that Galileo would not be allowed to “hold, teach or defend the Copernican theory in any matter”. Galileo ended up obeying the church and did not touch or teach about the theory for seven…
He was motivated by Copernicus's idea of the sun being the center of the universe which many astronomy acumens didn't agree with. Through his telescope, Galileo observed that planets existed on their own right. He was also able to observe the moon which he said was formed by Moon Mountains and craters. Although Galileo did not come into full agreement with Copernicus's initial idea of the sun being at the center of the universe, at least he agreed that there are some bodies in the universe which revolve around the sun (Dreyer, 1906). This means that Copernicus' idea was not far from the truth as confirmed by Galilei…
Galileo lived in a time of division and repression between religious and scientific theory, where most writings were incendiary and disincentivized unity. His letter to the Grand Duchess Christina worked against what most of his contemporaries were peddling. Galileo’s assertions of separation in the meanings of scientific and religious thought powerfully achieve his goal of reconciling the conflict between science and religion. He does this by using credible sources to discredit those who speak against him, comparing the science of astronomy to many other sciences, and creating a defined space in which the Bible will retain its supreme authority. Nonetheless, Galileo tends to portray the interpretations of science as much more significant than…
Galileo was a very smart man. He created and discovered many amazing things, not all of which were accepted by the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. He created a telescope that magnified up to 20 times and began studying space in 1609, (“Galileo”). The telescope allowed him to see many things not visible to the human eye, such as the texture of the moon and Jupiter's four moons. Through the study of his findings Galileo discovered that Venus and Mercury revolve around the sun, and that confirmed his belief that the Sun was the center of the Universe.…
Galileo would come to invent a thermoscope, which was the predecessor to the thermometer. He also published The Little Balance, which is what brought him to the attention of the scholarly world. Galileo furthered mankind's understanding of astronomy, applied science, as well as making significant improvements to the telescope. He pointed his telescope toward the night sky and discovered 4 moons around Jupiter that are now called the Galilean Moons. He would also use his understanding of ocean tides to make an argument for the fact that the earth moves around the sun, not the opposite, which was what was commonly accepted. The Catholic Church ordered that publishing's of Galileo could not contain references to ocean tides. Galileo was a large supporter of heliocentrism, which caused large amounts of controversy in the Catholic Church because the belief at the time was that the earth was the center of the universe. Galileo went to Rome to defend the scientific position on the issue, but "In 1616, an Inquisitional commission unanimously declared heliocentrism to be "foolish and absurd in philosophy, and formally heretical since it explicitly contradicts in many places the sense of Holy Scripture."(Wiki). As a result of Galileo's trial in 1633, he was ordered to spend…
Galileo lived in an oppressing society, at a time were people were forced to obey the church without thinking. This didn't only apply in religion issues, but in all subjects of life. Anyone who opposes the church was considered hypocrite and was executed. However these circumstances have not stop him…
He applied mathematics to his experiments and also used a telescope to make astronomical observations. He discovered mountains on the moon, spots on the sun, and also the four moons of Jupiter; observations that contradicted traditional beliefs that the heavens were perfect. {EXT.} In a letter to Galileo, an Italian monk named Giovanni Campioli tells Galileo, “remove the possibility of malignant rumors by repeatedly showing your willingness to defer to the authority of those who have jurisdiction over the human intellect in matters of the interpretation of Scriptures.” (Doc. 6) This document may be biased because Campioli was a monk, a religious figure, and only considered the universe a religious subject and that, therefore, he thought would make him a more reliable source than Galileo. He wrote this letter perhaps to try and withhold his authority over religious persons and suppress Galileo by insinuating it was in everyone’s best interest. [POV] Galileo was eventually brought before the Italian Inquisition for his theories. The traditional religious beliefs obviously affected his work in a similar way as Copernicus as he had to be careful who he talked to for fear of being found out by the church. Both scientists were limited in what they could do because of the fact that they were contradicting what the church…
**The year 1554 was one of the first years that a free thinker came into the picture. John Calvin, a French Protestant theologian, disagreed with the fact that the study of astronomy should be outlawed by the Church, saying, "This study should not be prohibited, nor this science condemned, because some frantic persons boldly reject whatever is unknown to them," (doc. 2). He had even formed his own religions, to become known later as Calvinism, because he so disagreed with the Church. Just a few years earlier, Polish priest and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus had agreed in a more mild way, saying, "The learned and unlearned alike may see that I shrink from no criticism," (doc.1) meaning that he would continue his studies no matter what others told him. Both these religious men, though in different religions, thought the same thing about the fact that knowledge and learning should have no boundaries. Galileo himself was living proof of what these two men are discussing; his books were banned by the Church and put under house arrest for the last years of his life because his teachings disagreed with the Church. People all over the world, including people…
Galileo Galilei caught wind of the enhanced invention, and couldn’t resist getting his hands on one. Kepler obliged and Galileo, having improved the telescope even further, began a long process of viewing and plotting which, when published in his Starry Messenger, eventually earned him the title, “father of modern observational astronomy.” Galileo was a firm believer of the heliocentric theory, and even went so far as visiting Rome so he could appeal to Catholic Church authorities lest they ban the theories of Copernicus. He conceded that yes, the Scripture may have several verses suggesting the geocentrism of the universe. Galileo believed, however, that scripture might not be intended for such literal interpretation. Though the church denied his request and still commanded him to never hold the Bible-contradicting belief that the earth revolves around the sun. However, they did not deny him the ability to simply discuss the heliocentric theory. And, with the formal approval of the church and the Pope, that’s exactly what he did in his Dialogue on Two Chief Systems. When the work was published however the church was greatly displeased. Though disguised as a mere discussion, the work did all but completely assert that geocentrists are the unintelligent peers of heliocentrists. Galileo was summoned before the Inquisition when the Pope felt personally insulted by the work. While Galileo followed the…
In writing this essay I intend to analyse the reasoning why the Catholic Church found such a verdict, I will look into whether the Church just had a fundamental disregard for all scientific research, maybe due to the problems of the lack of unity of the Catholic Church. Were the Church right to find such a verdict in view of the times they were living in? This should then lead me on to look at the effects of the negative spin put onto the Copernican system by the Catholics.…