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In 1632 Galileo argued for a Copernican view in his Dialogues of the Two Chief Systems of the World. The following year he was tried by the Catholic Inquisition for violating a 1616 Vatican edict forbidding such teachings. We will situate ourselves in 1633, consider the evidence for ourselves and decide (in a historical context) whether Galileo should be forced to abjure his beliefs. For our retrial, each person in class will represent someone supporting the Church or Galileo. After hearing the arguments, we will all act as the Inquisition and decide Galileo's fate.
Questions
- Did Galileo violate the 1616 edict of the Church? What guided the Church's interpretation of the heavens? Why did the Church view Galileo's ideas as dangerous--or wrong?
- How did Galileo argue for his views? How did Tycho Brahe interpret Galileo's evidence in a way that the Church found acceptable? How do we choose between alternative hypotheses?
- Was Galileo an unlucky victim of court politics? Did Galileo contribute to his own demise through personal attacks?
- The Vatican housed many great intellectuals of the time, including Cardinal Bellarmine. What did Bellarmine believe? How did he view Galileo's claims?
- Who was Giordano Bruno? How did his views influence the Church in this episode?
For Reflection
- If you had been Galileo, what claims would you have made publically? --in print? How would you have presented any claims regarded by others as controversial or heretical?
- How do members of your family or Church regard the Galileo affair? Given your historical knowledge, what might this reveal about our attitudes about science and religion?
The teacher will serve as the Grand Inquisitor, calling upon each team to present their case, posing additional questions, and allowing cross-examination by other teams. The whole class will serve as the Inquisition in deciding Galileo's fate.
Galileo Team #1
Prepare a case for the reasonableness of Galileo's arguments.
- Why did Galileo find a Ptolemaic view of the world unacceptable?
- Find and present three forms of evidence that Galileo used to support his claims. (You might refer both to The Starry Messenger of 1610 and the controversial Dialogues, central to the Inquisitions's trial.)
- Ideally, you should discuss why we should trust our observations, even though we know that they can be faulty and sometimes mislead us.
Galileo Team #2
Prepare an argument about how Galileo addressed common-sense objections to his claims.
- How did Galileo explain falling objects--why, if the earth moves, do objects that are dropped from a great height, fall directly underneath where they are dropped? (Research his ideas on circular inertia.)
- According to scripture, Joshua commanded the sun to stand still (indicating that it must move). How did Galileo reply? (Find his "Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina" in Stillman Drake's Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo or Finnochiaro's The Galileo Affair, and/or his letter to Piero Dini in John Burke's Science and Culture in the Western Tradition.)
- Ideally, consider the role of reasoning and observational evidence in reaching many of Galileo's conclusions.
Galileo Team #3
Prepare an argument that this trial is based primarily on inter-personal politics, not Church doctrine-- and that therefore Galileo should not now be held accountable to the 1616 edict.
- Read Biagioli's Galileo, Courtier, especially on the relationship between Galileo and Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII) and on "the fall of the favorite."
- Discuss the professional challenges facing a "scientist," or natural philosopher, at this time. Why did Galileo become part of the Papal Court in Rome? What motivated Galileo? What motivated his critics?
Galileo Team #4
Prepare to question Cardinal Bellarmine.
- Read Bellarmine's letter to Paolo Foscarini of 12 April 1615 and other relevant documents (available in Finnochario's The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History or John Burke's Science and Culture in the Western Tradition).
- Ideally, research the views of the Jesuits, traditionally the intellectual branch of the Catholic Church. How did they support Galileo's position (esp. their views on sunspots and comets)?
- How do Bellarmine's intellectual views also help support Galileo's case?
Church Team #1
Prepare a case that Galileo's arguments against Ptolemaic views do not necessarily mean embracing Copernican views.
- For example, how did Tycho Brahe provide an important alternative for the Church?
- More specifically, how did the Church interpret Galileo's telescopic observations, such as the moons of Jupiter, the surface of the moon, and the phases of Venus?
Church Team #2
Prepare an argument that Galileo's claims contradict common sense and good ("scientific") observation. Summarize the role of "science" and of "regulating reason" in considering Galileo's conclusions.
- Find good reasons why we might not trust observations through a telescope.
- Suggest how a falling object should appear if the earth moved underneath it as it fell. (Ideally, you will calculate the proposed velocity of the earth in Rome, according to Galileo's views).
- Analyze the weaknesses in Galileo's arguments for tides.
- Ideally, summarize the arguments of Nicholas of Cusa about "regulating reason."
Church Team #3
Prepare an argument why Galileo's views--even if based on some apparent truths and fragments of evidence--are both misguided and dangerous for most Catholics.
- Describe how the earlier views of Giordano Bruno set an important precedent on Copernican views.
- Detail how Galileo's claims contradict excerpts from the Bible.
- Describe the importance of the 1616 edict, central to this trial. Ideally, explain why, if Galileo has been advocating Copernicanism since at least 1610, he should be held accountable now.
Church Team #4
Prepare to question Cardinal Bellarmine.
- Read Bellarmine's letter to Paolo Foscarini of 12 April 1615 (available in Finnochario's The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History or John Burke's Science and Culture in the Western Tradition).
- Compare his view to Nicole Oresme (1320-1382).
- Consult with Team #2 about Nicholas of Cusa's views about "regulation of reason."
- How do Bellarmine's intellectual views--both scientific and religious--help support a case to censure Galileo?
Cardinal Bellarmine
Prepare to answer questions from both Galileo's team and the Church.
- Read your letter to Paolo Foscarini of 12 April 1615 (available in Finnochario's The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History or John Burke's Science and Culture in the Western Tradition).
- Compare your view to that of Nicole Oresme (1320-1382).
- What interactions have you had with Galileo himself on his views? How has Galileo reacted to your arguments and sympathetic advice?
- Be prepared to reconcile your fundamental support of Galileo and the intellectual tradition he represents with your views about religion.
Objectives
- to understand the complexity surrounding Galileo's trial in its historical context
- to research particular historical perspectives
- to write clearly
- to reflect on the relationship between science and religion
Evaluation
1/4 -- prepared written position statement based on your team's research
1/4 -- oral presentation at the retrial (clarity, completeness) (3-4 mins./person)
1/4 -- participation -- how effectively you pose questions, and also answer questions, making your position seem reasonable in the light of potential criticism
1/4 -- in-class essay justifying your position at the end of the retrial
posted: 10/15/00
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