Galileo's Second Trial Research Paper

Galileo's Second Trial
Introduction
There have been very few episodes in the history of science that have caused more controversy than the ecclesiastical accusation of the Copernican system in 1616 and the following persecution of Galileo in 1633. From the birth of these events there has been an ongoing debate that continues until this day. You have on one side a large section of the public as well as numerous scientists and scholars who seem to regard the Galileo Affair as a characteristic illustration of a typical perspective of the Roman Catholic church towards science. On the other side you have the authorities of the church who seem to feel a growing concern for it reputation in the field of science.

As an italian scientist and scholar he made pioneering observations that laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy. Galileo was born in 1564 in Pisa, Italy where he eventually attended university and became a mathematics professor. Galileo constructed the first “modern” telescope and supported the heliocentric Copernican theory which would eventually bring about the controversy leading to his persecution. In the latter years of his career Galileo began to openly express his support of the Copernican heliocentric theory. This was challenging to the established order set by the Catholic Church and the doctrine of Aristotle. As Galileo delved further in his heliocentric findings he published various pieces that further contradicted Aristotle and the Church Doctrine such as, his Discourse on Bodies in Water and his Observations of Sunspots.Galileo's finding culminated in him writing a letter to a student in order to explain that the church doctrine was written from an earthly perspective and implied that science provided a differing, more accurate perspective. It was then that the Church's inquisition ordered Galileo not to “hold, teach, or defend in any manner” the Copernican theory regarding the motion of the earth. In 1632, Galileo published the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which was a conversation between three people: one who supports Copernican theory, one who

It can be argued that the printing press both helped Galileo spread his publications on Copernican theory as well hurt him by assisting the church, providing evidence for Galileo's prosecution. Take the Letter to the Grand Duchess for example, which was initially a private letter. Once it was leaked, the printing press was able to be used to create a large amount of duplicate copies which were able to be distributed to wide audiences. This exposed his theological opinions to society and gave them the opportunities to form an opinion about his theories of their own. Being that only a handful of scholars were in the heliocentric camp at the time, Galileo's theological debates most likely did not go over well with the general public. This subsequently may have led the evangelical side of Italian society to pressure the church to prosecute Galileo to the full extent. The printing press allowed a ripple effect to occur by spreading Galileo's publications and teachings more rapidly than may have been possible in previous