Galileo Galilei — a 15th & 16th century astronomer, physicist, philosopher, and mathematician — proved to be a central figure in humanity’s transition from natural philosophy to modern science. His courageous championing of heliocentrism and Copernicanism was controversial during his lifetime – to say the least, meeting with strong opposition from religious leaders and fellow astronomers as well. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that heliocentrism was “foolish and absurd in philosophy, and formally heretical since it explicitly contradicts in many places the sense of Holy Scripture.” And yet Galileo remain undeterred, and later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, a work which appeared to attack Pope Urban VIII. As a consequence, he was tried by the Inquisition, found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, and forced to spend the rest of his life under house arrest … According to some historians, after recanting his theory that the Earth moved around the Sun, Galileo then audibly uttered the rebellious phrase, “And yet it moves”.

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use … You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.” ~ Galileo

Filed under: In LOVE with Humanity by Scaughdt