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Okla-homey
2/13/2008, 08:49 AM
February 13, 1633: Galileo in Rome for Inquisition

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Galileo

375 years ago on this day in 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy for advocating Copernican theory, which holds that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

Galileo officially faced the Roman Inquisition in April of that same year and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. Put under house arrest indefinitely by Pope Urban VIII, Galileo spent the last nine years of his days at his villa in Arcetri, near Florence, before dying on January 8, 1642.

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His Holiness, Pope Urban VIII.

Galileo, the son of a musician, was born February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy. He entered the University of Pisa planning to study medicine, but shifted his focus to philosophy and mathematics. In 1589, he became a professor at Pisa for several years, during which time he demonstrated that the speed of a falling object is not proportional to its weight, as Aristotle had believed.

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According to some reports, Galileo conducted his research by dropping objects of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. From 1592 to 1630, Galileo was a math professor at the University of Padua, where he developed a telescope that enabled him to observe lunar mountains and craters, the four largest satellites of Jupiter and the phases of Jupiter.

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He also discovered that the Milky Way was made up of stars. Following the publication of his research in 1610, Galileo gained acclaim and was appointed court mathematician at Florence.

Galileo's research led him to become an advocate of the work of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1573). However, the Copernican theory of a sun-centered solar system conflicted with the teachings of the powerful Roman Catholic Church, which essentially ruled Italy at the time.

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Nick Copernicus at the instant of his "ah ha!" moment

Church teachings contended that Earth, not the sun, was at the center of the universe. In 1633, Galileo was brought before the Roman Inquisition, a judicial system established by the papacy in 1542 to regulate church doctrine. This included the banning of books that conflicted with church teachings.

The Roman Inquisition had its roots in the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, the purpose of which was to seek out and prosecute heretics, considered enemies of the state.

Today, Galileo is recognized for making important contributions to the study of motion and astronomy. His work influenced later scientists such as the English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton, who developed the law of universal gravitation.

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Isaac Newton

In 1992, the Vatican formally acknowledged its mistake in condemning Galileo. therefore, if you or someone you know has been declared a heretic based on some scientific writing or statement...relax. Given the Church was just on files from 1633 in 1992, it may be a while before you get your pardon.;)

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Oh, one more thing. Galileo wasn't 100% correct. He was correct in his belief in a helio-centric solar system, but he was wrong about the orbits of planets. They aren't perfect circles as Galileo beleived. They have elliptical orbits. Proven by Johannes Kepler during Galileo's lifetime. Kepler sent him his papers, but Galileo ignored them.

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Kepler

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TUSooner
2/13/2008, 10:23 AM
How dare the planets ignore the Pope!

12
2/13/2008, 10:49 AM
Wow! Think the rapists and murderers in prison made fun of him?

SoonerStormchaser
2/13/2008, 10:50 AM
No...one of the two groups just did what they do best to him :eek:.

Miko
2/13/2008, 12:05 PM
Rather than admit the Church was wrong, I think JPII shoulda excommunicated the the solar system. That'd learned 'em! extra ecclesiam, nulla salus :D

12
2/13/2008, 12:10 PM
Honestly, would YOU trust a man wearing a neck ruffle AND with facial hair the likes of Kepler's?

Frozen Sooner
2/13/2008, 12:52 PM
So, under threat of torture and forced to recant his theories, Galileo finally recanted.

However, at the end of his recantation, he muttered to the ecclesiastical court ""E pur si muove."

Nevertheless, it still moves.

SCOUT
2/13/2008, 12:59 PM
Honestly, would YOU trust a man wearing a neck ruffle AND with facial hair the likes of Kepler's?
I hear the neck ruffle is making a come back.

SouthFortySooner
2/13/2008, 01:04 PM
not even a hint of a lapel pin though.

47straight
2/13/2008, 08:28 PM
So, under threat of torture and forced to recant his theories, Galileo finally recanted.

However, at the end of his recantation, he muttered to the ecclesiastical court ""E pur si muove."

Nevertheless, it still moves.

Nope and nope.

Frozen Sooner
2/13/2008, 08:31 PM
Nope and nope.

Que? What are you disagreeing with?

OCUDad
2/13/2008, 08:41 PM
On a family vacation in Florence several years ago, we visited the museum where Galileo's middle finger (from his right hand) is on display. He's still getting the last word.

12
2/13/2008, 10:18 PM
That's classic, dad.

http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/finger.html

12
2/13/2008, 10:28 PM
fixed for the young un's

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j200/zebthethird/finger2.jpg

47straight
2/14/2008, 08:33 AM
Que? What are you disagreeing with?


The pain of penalty he was under, and what he said. The first is due to the connotation of the word "inquisition" which is loaded by the nature (and the exaggeration) of the Spanish Inquisition. It's ties to the inquiry in question are also far more tenuous than Homey has let on. His muttering is apocrophyl (sp?). Most serious writing on the subject I read doesn't think he said it. It was probably fabricated at a later date by the same kind of parties that conflated the nature of the heresy charges against him.

AggieTool
2/14/2008, 08:59 AM
Phewwww, I'm glad we've progressed beyond incarcerating someone for being enlightened.

Next thing you know, we'll get to teach science in schools.;)

Widescreen
2/14/2008, 09:25 AM
Gotta love church "laws" that aren't based on the Bible. I'm sure Galileo was thinking "Haven't you people heard of Martin Luther???"

Either that or **** off, dip****s.

47straight
2/14/2008, 09:35 AM
Gotta love church "laws" that aren't based on the Bible. I'm sure Galileo was thinking "Haven't you people heard of Martin Luther???"

Either that or **** off, dip****s.


Actually, he was a pretty faithful catholic, so no, probably not.

Frozen Sooner
2/14/2008, 12:24 PM
The pain of penalty he was under, and what he said. The first is due to the connotation of the word "inquisition" which is loaded by the nature (and the exaggeration) of the Spanish Inquisition. It's ties to the inquiry in question are also far more tenuous than Homey has let on. His muttering is apocrophyl (sp?). Most serious writing on the subject I read doesn't think he said it. It was probably fabricated at a later date by the same kind of parties that conflated the nature of the heresy charges against him.

Did the Inquisition not have the power to force recantation through torture?

Okla-homey
2/14/2008, 03:36 PM
Did the Inquisition not have the power to force recantation through torture?

Well sure, but there was still a problem (if I recall my European history taught my sophomore year at the SC School for Wayward Boys). Recantation was not a "get off the rack free card." It only operated to allow the recanted heretic to die a Christian and receive Church rites appending to death and commital.

Depending on the egregious nature of the heretical act recanted, one still could be subject to execution, although less cruelly. e.g. headsman vs. burning or being crushed by stones.

Soooo, anyway you slice it, you were'nt out of the woods on making a recantation. However, instead of being burned, you would have earned the privilege, afforded only the members of the One True Church, to confess, receive absolution, and thereupon do your penance by laying your noggin on a stump and having it lopped off by a smelly guy in a black outfit.

Frozen Sooner
2/14/2008, 04:53 PM
Oh, yeah, I knew that they could still torture you after recantation-at least, the Spanish version of the Inquisition could. I was asking if the Inquisition that Galileo faced had the power to torture, though. I was under the impression that they did, so that Galileo did, in fact, recant under pain of torture.

The "E pur si muova" deal-yeah, I know that's somewhat apocryphal but it's a cool story anyhow. :D

Okla-homey
2/14/2008, 05:02 PM
Oh, yeah, I knew that they could still torture you after recantation-at least, the Spanish version of the Inquisition could. I was asking if the Inquisition that Galileo faced had the power to torture, though. I was under the impression that they did, so that Galileo did, in fact, recant under pain of torture.

The "E pur si muova" deal-yeah, I know that's somewhat apocryphal but it's a cool story anyhow. :D

I recall that Urban VIII actually admired Galileo and that is why he only had to undergo house arrest to the end of his days. Also, he was still allowed to publish, but the Hoily See required him to publish with a disclaimer his assertions were unproven theories.

Sounds kinda vaguely reminiscent of the whole evolution v. intelligent design imbroglio to moi.

47straight
2/15/2008, 12:08 AM
Did the Inquisition not have the power to force recantation through torture?


I think that the Roman Inquisition had torture available, because I remember that compared to other authorities at the time, they had strict rules about when and how it could be used. Whether any of the situations applied to Galileo, I just don't know. Execution was also rare.


With these kinds of things, I have no desire to recreate the 30 Years War on the SO. In the vein of your future learnin', try this socratic question on for size: If the heresy Galileo was accused of was merely teaching heliocentric theory, then why didn't the church authorities nail Copernicus before him? :)