Galileo in Rome The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius

by Shea, William R.; Artigas, Mariano

• ISBN13: 9780195165982
• ISBN10: 0195165985
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-25
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Galileo's trial by the Inquisition is one of the most dramatic incidents in the history of science and religion. Today, we tend to see this event in black and white--Galileo all white, the Church all black. Galileo in Rome presents a much more nuanced account of Galileo's relationship withRome. The book offers a fascinating account of the six trips Galileo made to Rome, from his first visit at age 23, as an unemployed mathematician, to his final fateful journey to face the Inquisition. The authors reveal why the theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun, set forth in Galileo'sDialogue, stirred a hornet's nest of theological issues, and they argue that, despite these issues, the Church might have accepted Copernicus if there had been solid proof. More interesting, they show how Galileo dug his own grave. To get the imprimatur, he brought political pressure to bear on theRoman Censor. He disobeyed a Church order not to teach the heliocentric theory. And he had a character named Simplicio (which in Italian sounds like simpleton) raise the same objections to heliocentrism that the Pope had raised with Galileo. The authors show that throughout the trial, until thefinal sentence and abjuration, the Church treated Galileo with great deference, and once he was declared guilty commuted his sentence to house arrest. Here then is a unique look at the life of Galileo as well as a strikingly different view of an event that has come to epitomize the Church's supposed antagonism toward science.

Author Biography

Mariano Artigas is Professor of Philosophy of Science and was Dean of the Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Navarra, in Pamplona, Spain.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Introduction	p. ix
Job Hunting and the Path to Rome (First Trip: 1587)	p. 1
The Door of Fame Springs Open (Second Trip: 29 March-4 June 1611)	p. 19
Roman Clouds (Third Trip: 10 December 1615-4 June 1616)	p. 49
Roman Sunshine (Fourth Trip: 23 April-16 June 1624)	p. 94
Star-Crossed Heavens (Fifth Trip: 3 May-26 June 1630)	p. 123
Foul Weather in Rome (Sixth Trip: 13 February-6 July 1633)	p. 158
References	p. 201
Photo Credits	p. 212
Selected Bibliography	p. 215
Index	p. 217
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