Galileo, Science and the Church (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)
by Jerome J. Langford
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jerome J. LangfordEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1992-12-01
ISBN: 0472065106
Number of pages: 248
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Book Reviews of Galileo, Science and the Church (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)
Book Review: The popular story vs the actual
Summary: 5 Stars
Langford is even-handed and doesn't withhold criticism of academia and the Church for its handling of Galileo and his books.
What I was taught by public school and the popular press:
The Catholic Church persecuted Galileo because he proved and taught the Earth revolved around the Sun, was threatened with torture and death. Copernicus delayed publishing his theory for fear of persecution from the Church, finally publishing it on his deathbed.
What Langford convincingly shows from research into primary documents:
The Catholic Church was more receptive to the heliocentric theory than the universities. Pope Clement requested a hearing of Copernicus' theory in the Vatican gardens, and was "quite favorably impressed" with the theory. Copernicus was afraid of persecution from his peers, the universities, not the Catholic Church. His fears were well founded, as Galileo discovered years later. Galileo received the full weight of academic condemnation and ridicule. When professors realized peer pressure wouldn't silence Galileo, they turned to the Church for help. Fortunately, a good portion of the Church was behind Galileo. The head of one Jesuit college wrote to Galileo to say that his astronomers and mathematicians had confirmed his theory, but wanted more proof. Galileo's efforts were further encouraged by Pope Urban. His first trial resulted in being admonished not to teach it as fact, but was welcome to teach it as theory. Unfortunately, by the time of his second trial he had managed to alienate his support, mainly by insisting his theory be taught as fact despite a lack of evidence. Two of his proofs were the tides--he believed they were cause by the Earth sloshing the oceans. Galileo insisted on circular orbits, and refused to consider Kepler's calculations on elliptical orbits, which would have corrected errors he and others found in his model. He was tried a second time for teaching the theory as fact, not for teaching the theory. He was never tortured or shown a dungeon. His house arrest consisted of a five-room apartment with a servant at his disposal, and was free to roam Rome while awaiting trial. After the trial, he was released. True he was threatened with imprisonment, but at his age, Langford asserts, both he and the court officials knew it would not be carried out; the sentence would have been mitigated.
In short, Galileo and Copernicus were treated by the academia in much the same way they treat new ideas today. For an explanation of why the geo-centric theory isn't Christian in principle or origin, read Sampson's Six Modern Myths.
Summary of Galileo, Science and the Church (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)
A penetrating account of the confrontation between Galileo and the Church of Rome
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