astro paper

Dalila Karic
02/16/09
Galileo Video Reflection

From the beginning of his time, Galileo was in constant conflict with himself and his surroundings. It was not a simple conflict between science and religion, as usually portrayed. Rather it was a conflict between Copernican science and Aristotelian science which had become Church tradition. Religion was a huge deal during this time; Galileo was even pushed into becoming a priest in the early years of his life. Speaking against religion could prove fatal. Galileo was an arrogant, opinionated man. He loved to speak out. He supported Copernicus’s heliocentric theory, but he was also a supporter of the Bible. However, he tried to avoid controversy by not making public statements on the issue. Galileo finally expressed his scientific views supporting Copernicus as well as his biblical views in a 1615 letter to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany which became the basis of his first Church trial and censure.
Galileo was not a friendly man; he had few friends. He also had three illegitimate children, something everyone looked down on during this time. However, he did get patronage by the Medici, a very well respected Italian family, which gave him some support. They gave him the title of a mathematician and philosopher. Galileo kept contact with one of his children, Virginia. Through their letters, it really showed that she might have been one of the only people he actually cared about and who’s opinions he valued.
His discovery of the Jupiter’s moons, sun spots, and phases of Venus gave more support for the heliocentric theory. The earth was believed to be special because the Sun, made of the element "fire" had to be less massive than Earth which was made of much heavier elements. Also the sun didn’t have any “moons” like the earth. When Galileo discovered the four moons of Jupiter, this disclaimed the earth from being “special”.
Also, Galileo discovered the phases of Venus and Venus could only have phases if it circled around the sun; disproving the church’s geocentric beliefs. After these discoveries many people privately accepted Copernicus’s theory; but only a few were brave enough to support it publicly.
Pope Urban the eight was one of Galileo’s admirers. During a court dinner, in 1611, at which Galileo defended his view on floating bodies, Barberini supported Galileo against Cardinal Gonzaga. Galileo was given permission to publish his books. He presented it as a dialogue between two characters debating the heliocentric theory. This way, the people could see both sides, and he knew had enough proof to win this debate. With that Galileo had the books published in Italian so the people could read it and the truth could be spread. Yet, the church even saw this as a huge threat, and it caused Galileo many consequences.
I think Galileo had no way out; the church was too powerful and too old to be proved wrong by one of its members. He tried every way possible and it still didn’t work, even his arrogance and intelligence couldn’t beat the false beliefs the church was tied to.