Galileo Was Punished by the Church for His Vision and Understanding of the Solar System Essay

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Copernicus & Galileo

What did Copernicus discover about the universe?

Copernicus refuted earlier theories that the earth was the center of the universe and became the stepping stone Galileo later used to fine-tune the theory and Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. These early scientists faced punishment from the Catholic Church but in the secular future they opened the door to truth and knowledge.

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, in Poland, but he was fortunate to have traveled to Italy at the young age of 18, to go to university and begin preparing himself for his career, which he thought at that time would be a career in the Roman Catholic Church. He became acquainted with the cosmos when, at the University of Bologna in Italy, he took an astrology class -- trying to read the stars in order to predict events that may come in the future. "At that time it was felt to be important for priests and doctors ... " to be aware of astrology and astronomy (Redd, 2013). Of course over the years scientists have turned their backs on astrology but astronomy and related research into the mysteries of the universe are very much a part of rigorous ongoing efforts of science.

Copernicus was the first scientist to posit that the earth was not in fact the center of the universe, but in fact he made the bold proposal that the planets (Earth included) revolved around the sun. Scientists today understand that Copernicus didn't have it completely right, but certainly he was at the head of the class when it came to understanding the Solar System. And his work proved to be a kind of stepping stone for future research and science when it comes to understanding how the universe works. He was also fortunate to have lived with and worked with University of Bologna professor Domenico Maria de Novara, an astronomy professor. When he returned to Poland following his university studies he went back to Poland as a Catholic cleric and yet again, he had good fortune; he lived in a building with an observatory, so he could view the night sky and continue his long-held fascination with the movements of the stars and planets.

In his studies of the night sky he noted that "... the planets, on occasion, would travel backward across the sky over several nights of observation" (it came to be known as "retrograde motion") (Redd, p. 3). In order to come to terms with this phenomenon he postulated that -- in part based on Ptolemy's understanding -- he drew up " ... a number of circles within circles -- epicycles -- inside of a planet's path" (Redd, p. 3). Up to seven circles were used to fill in his model, and there were observers who viewed his model as far too complicated, hence denying him the brilliance which he clearly was showing in that era. With his model and his intuitive, creative mind at work, he proposed (in a hand written note) that "... the center of the universe was not Earth, but that the sun lay near it"; additionally, Copernicus believed that the rising and the setting of the sun was simply due to the fact that the earth was revolving (this was called the "heliocentric ordering of the planets") (Redd, p. 3). Moreover, Copernicus believed (correctly) that the seasons were caused by the different aspects of the earth's movement around the sun, and he proposed the idea Earth's movement through space could explain why planets move across the sky "in the same direction as the stars" (Redd, p. 3). However, because Copernicus hadn't published anything in astronomy (he only produced manuscripts), he didn't achieve the high literary standing that he might have, and he was scorned in some circles. Martin Luther, the German religious reformer, called Copernicus " ... the fool who will turn the whole science of astronomy upside down" (World Biography). Eventually (in 1539) a scholar named Georg Joachim (Rheticus) printed an account of Copernicus' unfinished book, which explained that "... the orbital motion of the earth fit perfectly into the sequence set by the periods of other planets with its period of 365 days" (World Biography).

How did Galileo's beliefs about the Copernican theory bring him into conflict with the Catholic Church?

The work of Copernicus certainly led to the discoveries and theories of Galileo; it was the year 1543 that Copernicus had first proposed the Earth was functioning under sun-centered (heliocentric) system (and that the Earth was not the center of the universe).

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Given that Copernicus had originally planned to become a priest but eventually settled in as a canon (cleric), when developing his idea of the solar system's functioning he had " ... recognized the possibility of trouble" with the Church (because of the obvious conflict between discovery science and Church doctrine (Hellman, 1998). According to an article in the Washington Post, the reason Copernicus postponed the publication of his work for so long is that he did indeed fear some kind of retribution from the Catholic hierarchy. Hence, Copernicus' doctrine " ... lay shrouded in Latin, just another long-winded academic treatise" that hardly anyone read and few cared a lick about -- so he believed the Church "could safely ignore it" (Hellman, p. 3). The author points out that Ptolemy's theory of the universe fit conveniently into Catholic / Christian doctrine -- "heaven and hell ... melded beautifully with the geocentric system" (Hellman, p. 4). That is, everything in heaven is "eternal and incorruptible" and because Ptolemy's ideas (thanks to Thomas Aquinas buying into Ptolemy's theories) became "entrenched in Catholic Church teachings," when Galileo came along with more advanced theories (that latched onto and advanced Copernicus' theories), it put Galileo at odds with the Church.

Galileo had always sought a "unified theory of matter, a mathematical theory of the material stuff that constitutes the whole of the cosmos (plato.standord.edu). To that end, he first challenged the critique of Aristotle in his 1590 manuscript, De Motu. Galileo also worked on theories that had to do with time, force, percussion, gravity and momentum; his effort, he hoped, would lead to a "single proportional measuring scale" (plato.stanford.edu). By 1609, when he began his work with telescopes, and later in 1612 (when he published Letters on the Sunspots), Galileo began to accept the Copernican system and began to use his telescope to support the Copernican theory (which of course went against the Catholic Church's doctrines). Galileo used his telescope to show that Venus revolved around the sun (which contradicted the Ptolemy's ordering of the planets). Galileo's new principles were based on his evidence that in fact the planets all revolve around the sun. In 1632 Galileo published Dialogues on the Two Chief World Systems, which brought him into direct conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church. He was charged with heresy and called before the "Holy Office of the Inquisition" and asked to repent (plato.standord.edu).

On June 22, 1633, Galileo was taken to the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and " ... ordered to kneel while his sentence was read"; he was accused of "vehemently suspect of heresy" for proposing a theory that directly violated what the Church doctrine taught. The cardinals that challenged him demanded proof; as proof Galileo pointed out that the motion of the earth is the only "conceivable ... physical cause for the reciprocal regular motion of the tides," but that explanation didn't fly, so Galileo was put under house arrest and shamed, which in hindsight is ironic because he was so very correct vis-a-vis the greater share of his theories (plato.stanford.edu).

Did the scientific revolution bring about a modern way of thinking?

The scientific revolution -- which occurred beginning in the sixteenth century and went through the seventeenth century -- should be thought of as not just a scientific revolution (although it can be argued that it certainly was), but as a revolution " ... in thought and practice" (Henry, 2004). In a very real way the scientific revolution challenged the doctrines of Aristotle because those who were trained in "natural philosophy" began to understand there was value in alternative approaches to the world beyond those put forward by the Ancient Greeks. While arguing that the scientific revolution was not just about science (but rather about thought and practice), it is impossible not to equate the theories of Copernicus -- the "last of the great medieval astronomers" -- with the switch in thinking from "an Earth-centered universe to a Sun-centered planetary system" (Henry, p. 2).

The answer to the question at the start of this section is yes, a far more modern way of thinking was introduced during the scientific revolution. Educated scholars, who were moved in part by the economic stimulus that occurred during the Renaissance ("incipient capitalism"), began to reach out for new approaches to the understanding of the world (Henry, p. 2). Those individuals who played a major.....

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