Eppur si muove: The Legend of Galileo
Abstract
[Article translated by Zenon E. Roskal]
The legend of Galileo’s encounter with the Inquisition is one of the constitutive myths of modernity. That encounter is often seen as a prime example of the hostility between science and religion. This essay examines some of the events of the “Galileo Affair” in order to show how misunderstandings of what occurred in the 17th Century continue to have currency. In particular, Galileo did not demonstrate that the Earth moved; he did not think that his astronomical observations were sufficient to constitute such a proof. Both he and his opponents in the Inquisition accepted the prevailing Aristotelian conception of what a demonstration in science consisted. However misguided, the Inquisition’s actions were disciplinary not doctrinal. In ordering Galileo not to defend the view that the Earth moved, the Inquisition subordinated the interpretation of the Bible to geocentric astronomy. The “legend of Galileo” continues to be used as an ideological weapon in contemporary cultural debates, including discourse about the relationship between faith and reason, the Bible and science.
Information about Translator: Associate Professor Zenon E. Roskal: Chair of Philosophy of Inanimate Nature, Faculty of Phlosophy, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
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