Galileo's Stardom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Galileo's Stardom - Essay Example Hence, when the highly acclaimed Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle proposed that Earth is the center of the universe, Catholic theologians readily validated as such perspective coincided with the relevant passages of the Holy Scripture. According to Aristotle, the heavens were made of 55 concentric crystalline spheres to which were attached celestial bodies orbiting the Earth at different measures of velocity. Aristotle further claimed herein that an outermost sphere existed being the domain of the ‘Prime Mover’ which brought its constant motion to be distributed among the inner spheres, including the sun. This notion was acceptable to the church on the grounds that it could be affirmed by certain passages in the Bible. As such, the biblical verses of the book of Genesis in the Old Testament, particularly Gen. 19:23 and Gen. 28:11, indicate in phrases â€Å"The sun had risen on the earth ...† and â€Å"... because the sun had set† (ESV), respectivel y, that the sun exhibits movement, as of rising and of setting. Then since the interpretation hereafter had been widely acknowledged in the literal sense of the text, the moving sun was thought of by the church to be the one rotating as all the rest of the cosmic spheres do about a core where the Earth’s spot was. ... xpressed inclination to his science and philosophy inasmuch as it seemed unlikely to question the inseparability between the church and its determination to keep the Aristotelian geocentric model. By the time that Renaissance or the Age of Enlightenment (14th – 17th c.) came and the enlightened thinkers prevailed to introduce reforms to the old system of thinking and living in several aspects, Galileo Galilei was born to challenge the traditional geocentric belief scheme. As one of the prominent figures who made ‘Scientific Revolution’ possible to soar to heights of radical vision and discoveries, Galileo studied astronomy, mathematics, physics, and natural philosophy that he found a great deal of significance in applying the scientific method. Through the inductive means of conducting his endeavor in astronomy which involved thorough use of math and physics for accurate computations, he managed to prove the Copernican findings that the sun is the center of the un iverse. The Roman Catholic Church, nevertheless, could not afford to permit the promotion of this concept since it had already perceived certainty in the gradual reconciliation of science and religion via the Earth- centered approach of Aristotle. It infuriated some theologians and church leaders to the point of severe opposition and accusation, charging the Italian astronomer of heresy upon examining Galileo’s heliocentric insights. His Copernican-based ideas appear contrary to the biblical statements concerning the movement of the sun or scriptural portions that reflected the Earth in fixed position while the Sun keeps not a single location, just as is depicted in Ecclesiastes 1:5 – â€Å"The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises† (NIV). Galileo, however, responded by