Guilty of Discovery

Hey guys! Today we are going to talk about the scientific revolution that eventually led to the Galileo trial. 

Around the 1400s the earth was believed to be in the center of the universe this was called the Geocentric Universe. This was based on the work of Aristotle and Ptolemy. This model was supported by the catholic church who were in complete control of the government.

A Polish mathematician and astronomer named Nicholaus Copernicus proposed that instead of the earth the sun was in the center of the universe. This new Heliocentric model contradicted the beliefs of the church which were the established authority at the time.

Galileo Galilei improved the telescope and turned it to the sky. He observed and documented the sky at night. He discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter. He observed sunspots and the rough surface of the moon. He documented the phases of Venus, which proved it orbited the sun.

In 1616, there had been an order to not teach heliocentrism as a proven fact but as a theory. After his findings he publicly supported heliocentrism (the belief that the sun is the center of the universe) by publishing “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems” in Florence in 1632. This book contrasted the geocentric and heliocentric models, and the heliocentric model made more sense and had a simpler explanation. The catholic church (one-sided beef for real). Galileo was ordered to come to Rome even though he was very wise in age and was poor in health, but he still came and there he was accused of heresy (disagreeing with the beliefs of the church/contradicting scripture). When on trial Galileo claimed that he presented arguments for both sides(which he did). He argued that he gave arguments for heliocentrism,but didn’t actually flat out say it was a proven fact.

The courts had three theologians to examine the book. They claimed that the book strongly favored the heliocentric model. The authorities believed that he had provided arguments in its favor, despite the restrictions in 1616.

In his written defense he argued that the book had been written to indicate that the heliocentric model arguments were not conclusive (basically copping a plea). He pointed out that the book concluded with an argument from the Pope. No matter how much he pleaded his case the Roman Inquisition still saw the book as problematic. In the end he was found guilty of heresy and was put on house arrest until he died. It took the church almost three hundred years to admit he was right.