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Galileo: Theories
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Essentially, Galileo was slipping into trouble on three accounts. First, despite feeble objections to the contrary, he was teaching Copernican theory as fact rather than hypothesis. Second, the popularity of his writings brought an essentially "philosophical discussion" into the public arena, requiring some sort of Church response. Third, by elevating scientific conjecture to a theological level, he was raising the stakes enormously. Instead of merely philosophical disputation that many in the Church viewed more as an intellectual game, Galileo – an untrained layman – was now lecturing on Scriptural interpretation.
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Galileo soon began taking up other scientific interests. In one particular paper he published, Galileo explained theories on ocean tides by using three characters engaging in a "dialogue". One character supported Galileo's views, another character was open-minded, and the last was stubborn and foolish and represented Galileo's enemies. He then wrote a similar book about the Copernican theory. Although the "dialogues" were very popular with the Italian public, the Pope believed that he was the model for the stubborn and foolish enemy of Galileo. The Pope ordered all of the "dialogues" banned and demanded that Galileo be tried for teaching the Copernican theory.
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Galileo began his critique of Aristotle in the 1590 manuscript, De Motu. The first part of this manuscript deals with terrestrial matter and argues that Aristotle's theory has it wrong. For Aristotle, sublunary or terrestrial matter is of four kinds (earth, air, water, and fire) and has two forms, heavy and light, which by nature are different principles of (natural) motion, down and up. Galileo, using an Archimedian model of floating bodies and later the balance, argues that there is only one principle of motion, the heavy (gravitas), and that lightness (or levitas) is to be explained by the heavy bodies moving so as to displace or extrude other bits of matter in such a direction that explains why the other bits rise. So on his view heaviness (or gravity) is the cause of all natural terrestrial motion. But this left him with a problem as to the nature of the heavy, the nature of gravitas.
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Galileo is known as the Father of Modern Science. He was one of the first people to use the scientific method to conduct experiments. This means Galileo observed a situation, developed a theory, and then carried out experiments to test his theory.
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Galileo found the justification for such a geometrical analysis of motion partly because it led to a striking correspondence with factual data. More importantly, he believed that the universe was structured along the patterns of geometry. In 1604 he could have had experimental verification of the law of free fall, which he derived on a purely theoretical basis, but it is not known that he sought at that time such an experimental proof. He was a Christian Platonist as far as scientific method was concerned. This is why he praised Copernicus repeatedly in the Dialogue for his belief in the voice of reason, although it contradicted sense experience. Such a faith rested on the conviction that the world was a product of a personal, rational Creator who disposed everything according to weight, measure, and number.
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Galileo could have safely proposed heliocentricity as a theory or a method to more simply account for the planets’ motions. His problem arose when he stopped proposing it as a scientific theory and began proclaiming it as truth, though there was no conclusive proof of it at the time. Even so, Galileo would not have been in so much trouble if he had chosen to stay within the realm of science and out of the realm of theology. But, despite his friends’ warnings, he insisted on moving the debate onto theological grounds.
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