Modern Age Europe 1348-1789 Primary Doc Analysis - Essay Example

Science and Religion The age of discovery and the advent of the scientific revolution affected commonly held scientific fact accepted by the church during Galileo Galilei’s period. During those times Aristotelian and Ptolomeic teachings were the established truths “held among academic philosophers…showing a fondness for their own opinions than for the truth” (Galileo’s Letter to the Most Serene Duchess Mother). During the renaissance, universities in Italy based their teachings of the works of Aristotle. The church respected his views because they did not go against their biblical understanding of the universe (Hilliam, 9). It was the prevailing system of accepting scientific facts at that time which Galileo Galilei opposed; a system to which, instead of letting people tries to discover and learn the nature and processes that surround them; it was left to those with authority, who in this case was Aristotle. Criticizing Aristotle was almost the same as criticizing the church (Hilliam). Galileo contends that God has given man knowledge and reasoning so that he will be able to find answers to questions that come to his mind by endowing man “with senses, reason and intellect…to give us knowledge which we can attain by them” (Letter to the Most Serene Grand Duchess). And so it is the nature of man to question things that happen around him. It is not surprising that Galileo’s thirst for knowledge about the natural world resulted in his discovery of facts leading from accepted knowledge by the Church during his time. In Part 13.5 of “Documents in Western Civilization”, Galileo’s wish to know about the formation of clouds eventually led him to discovering how water vapor forms. During those periods, the only truth being accepted by the Church is that clouds are formed by water vapor. He argues that Aristotelian thinking and philosophizing based on religious scripture is nothing, if man fails to discover the properties of everything around him. As he said, “And finally by elevating us to the ultimate end of our labors, which is the love of the divine Artificer, this will keep us steadfast in the hope that we shall learn every other truth in Him, the source of all light and verity” (Galileo Galilei). In chapter 13.6, his letter to the Most Serene Duchess Mother showed his frustrations against the non-acceptance of his discoveries and line of scientific inquiry, particularly his discoveries of the heavens. Galileo describes how scholars of his time subscribe to accepted church-knowledge and use biblical passages in the wrong context, rather than the search for added truth of their accepted beliefs. In Galileo’s view, his quest for knowledge stimulates investigation and growth of the scientific arts, and not the destruction of religion and church-accepted facts. Galileo argues that God gave man the intellect and sense of reason to ultimately look for the truth of all that is around us (Galileo’s Letter to Madame Christina of Lorraine). Religion and science did not clash by Galileo’s discoveries, rather his discoveries were just considered radical during his era as it deviated from accepted and established facts acceptable to scholars of the period. As Galileo said in his Third Letter on Sunspots, “There remain opposition to my work some stern defenders of every minute point of the Peripatetics”. Galileo maintained that the understanding of biblical passages during this period was incomplete, and that other scholars haven’t yet fully understood everything known as church-accepted fact. Galileo maintains that there was additional truth beyond what is written in the passages of the Bible and not yet discovered by man. Galileo further describes how other scholars tend to cover up their fallacies by the use of religion and the Bible. It is important to note, that during Galileo’s time, the church, being God’s voice, had temporal power over society. Going against church established beliefs and teachings cause repercussions on individuals propagating what are considered radical views, in fact, Hilliam (2005) said that the church was so powerful that criticism of the church was considered a crime and could result to harsh punishment, such as being burned at the stake. Galileo maintained that his discoveries did not really counter the Biblical writings but rather, he undertook discoveries beyond the accepted facts. Galileo maintains that his quest for the ultimate fact and knowledge about everything around man is still in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. He argues that man is still lacking in knowledge and that there was a never ending need to discover. As Galileo stated in his letter to the Most Serene Mother, “For the Bible is not chained in every expression to conditions as strict as those which govern all physical effects; nor is God any less excellently revealed in nature’s actions than in the sacred statements of the Bible.” Galileo believes that there are still a great number of undiscovered truths during his time, thereby a continuing search for knowledge. Religion and science did not clash because of his discoveries. It was Galileo’s discoveries that clashed with the beliefs of other scholars as Galileo’s discoveries were considered unacceptable by the Church as it goes beyond what is traditionally accepted. Work Cited Documents in Western Civilization. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, n.d. CD-ROM. Web 6 November 2012. Hilliam, Rachel. Galileo: Father of Modern Science. N.Y. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2005. Print. Read More