In 260 BC, Aristarchus proposed heliocentrism, an idea that went into the shadows with the fall of Rome, and reemerged in the 1540’s when after Islamic scholars shared the ideas with Christians. Copernicus worked on the geometry of the theory and published in Latin, the most widely read language in Europe. His ideas were known to scientists far and wide.
Based on Copernicus, followers Johannes Kepler and a Carmelite Foscarini were working on heliocentrism at the same time as Galileo. Astronomy was exciting stuff in the renaissance. The Jesuits were the astronomers to the Pope, and as fast as the latest in astronomy was being discovered (rediscovered) in the West, the Jesuits were teaching the Chinese Emperors in the East.
Galileo was astronomer to the Duke of Tuscany, a less prestigious post than astronomer to the Pope, but one more suited to his talents. Galileo also picked up commissions to work on projects for the Pope.
In 1613 Galileo published on heliocentrism, but Galileo was wrong on one point he inherited from Copernicus, and that was that the planets moved in perfect circles. Cardinal Bellarmine, yet another world-class astronomer, could do the calculations to know this was clearly wrong (but not yet why) and warned Galileo of his errors.
Kepler worked it all out: the movement is elliptical, not circular. Further, the planets in their motions cause tides and other phenomenon on earth. Kepler and Galileo were contemporaries and corresponded, but Galileo never adopted any of this, insisting planets could remain in orbit only in perfect circles.
Much is made of the problem that the nonscientific Western Culture largely believed in terracentrism. Thus, given the new awareness, work would have to be done to explain certain biblical passages in the light of the new knowledge. So what? From the Apostles to Augustness to Aquinas, the Church was much experienced in adapting to emerging science.
By the time Galileo was publishing his offending work, the Dialogue, his schoolmate and friend was Pope. Galileo published in Italian instead of Latin, made fun of Kepler and his (correct) theories, and insisted on the error that planets moved in circles. The worst part is Galileo was directly insulting to the Pope, in a time when the reformation was heating up.
The protestants took up Galileo’s cause, and to this day he is the poster boy for putative Church anti-science. The idea that the Church suppressed science is nonsense, since several other scientists were working on the same idea widely and freely, including the Pope’s own. What was suppressed was Galileo teaching something clearly wrong, by advancing circular orbits and dismissing Kepler’s elliptical orbits. But it is far more likely Galileo got in trouble for insulting the Pope, his friend and benefactor, in Italian, when that was becoming fashionable in protestant circles. That is not anti-science, that is just raw Italian politics.
To this day far and wide Galileo is invoked to libel and slander the Church. It is funny that scientists, who should know better, and journalists, who should dig deeper, would accept the story at face value. The facts are far more interesting. Galileo’s book was banned, Copernicus’ book was not. Galileo was placed under “arrest,” such as it was, on the payroll but not allowed to teach error any longer. The church was sending scientists world-wide, and evangelization of the Truth will not get very far if the Church was also teaching things it knew to be wrong, like orbits are circular.
In his series Connections, in one of the best episodes, James Burke claims the Church forbade any talk of vacuums since theologically a vacuum contains nothing and if God is everywhere, He could not be in a vacuum, where there is nothing... or some such nonsense that is no where to be found in church teachings.
The scientific fact is there is no such thing as a vacuum, Various scientists have theorized over it, and Einstein said given what we know about physics, the idea is irrelevant. When people say “vacuum” they mean relatively lower air pressure. There is either a vacuum, or there is not. On the other hand, the degrees to which relative air pressure can be lowered is quite impressive, but it is no vacuum in the theoretical sense that there is a void of nothingness. Amazing things can be done when air pressure is lowered. But by definition, nothing can be done in a vacuum. Again, the church will not teach somethin clearly wrong.
People also claim that science died in Italy after the Galileo affair. Hmmm... Avogardo, Marconi, Beccaria, Fermi, Galvani, Venturi, Volta, Italians all. As much science, good and bad, comes out of Italy as much as anywhere else. The Galileo story is an opera, not a tragedy.
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