“Letters to the Grand Duchess of Christina”

Thesis: In Galileo’s letter to the Grand Duchess of Christina, he asserts that passages from the Bible have no authority in scientific disputes and discoveries and that although Aristotle’s model of the universe may be wrong, he should still be appreciated as a great philosopher.
Ι. Defense of his Scientific Discovery
A. His Discovery
1. Earth revolves around sun not vice versa
a. They were always there, he did not put them there
b. Increase of known truths stimulates investigation, establishment, and growth of the arts, not their destruction
c. Copernicus relied on physical conclusions, not faith
d. God gave us intellect so we could use it.
2. Common sense of his teachings
a. Men of astronomical knowledge immediately accepted what he said.
b. If the people would charge him for heresy would simply look, they would be
unable to deny it.
ΙΙ. Bible has no authority on this matter
A. Absurdity of their argument
1. Knowledge is bad
a. Those who firmly hold on to the complete truth of the Bible believe to gain wisdom is somehow sinful b. Scripture is only source of argument against him c. Taking advantage of seduced masses to fight against him. 2. Vagueness a. Bible is very vague at points; hard to be taken literally b. His discoveries do not contradict the Bible if it is interpreted correctly 3. Missing the Point a. Those who see his discoveries as an attack on the truth of the Bible are forgetting its true message: the salvation of their souls through Jesus Christ
ΙΙΙ. Authority of Aristotle
A. Teachings are important, but not critical
1. Self Philosophy a. People should be their own guides in search of truth 2. His error a. He was wrong because of lack of scientific knowledge at the time B. Still good to study him 1. Philosopher a. He applauds study of his philosophy b. Just don’t blindly follow what he says c. People who study him should be historians, not philosophers

Bellarmine "Attack on the Copernican Theory"

Noah Fardon
MEHAP
Perry: Bellarmine “Attack on the Copernican Theory”
Thesis: In his letter to Paolo Antonio Foscarini, Cardinal Bellarmine presents the religious case that if the solar system is viewed as heliocentric, then it will be a denial of the religious truth of Scripture and require explanation against Scripture.

I. Denial of truths of Scripture
a. Heliocentric theory directly “rendering Holy Scripture false.”
b. “Council of Trent prohibits interpreting Scripture against the common consensus of the Holy Fathers
i. The literal interpretation of Genesis, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Joshua is that the sun is and heaven and moves around earth with great speed, and that the earth is far from heaven and remains motionless.
c. Church cannot tolerate giving Scripture a meaning contrary to the Holy Fathers
d. Belief in a heliocentric solar system is a lack of faith in “the speaker,” (aka: The Holy Spirit).
i. Comparable to denying that Abraham had two children and Jacob twelve, or denying that Christ was born of a virgin.
1. All of these things were word of the Holy Spirit.
II. Explanations Against Scripture
a. If Foscarini finds the heliocentric theory to be true, then he would have to explain his reasoning against the word of Scripture (a nearly impossible requirement to any and every firm religious believer).
b. Bellarmine’s final thought: If God gave us the knowledge and ability to learn of the Universe, then why would the word of Scripture and the truth of the solar system be any different? (aka: The word of Scripture is the word of God and its description of the Universe shouldn’t be any different from what we ultimately discover through science/knowledge/etc.)

FRQ: Scientific Rev. Impacted Religion and Philosophy

The Scientific Revolution led to many great minds questioning early theories and philosophies. Thinkers of the time, like Simon and Spinoza, questioned the supernatural events in the Bible, while great minds like Simon questioned the actual credibility of the Bible itself,

• Witchcraft panic 1450-1650
• Witches blamed for all types of natural disasters and personal tragedies
• Executions are curbed because people reason that confessions that come out of torture aren’t honest, people will say whatever someone else wants to hear just to escape pain
• Descartes:
• Discourse on Method
• Adopts “I think, therefore, I am”, from this he deduces the existence of God and much else
• Cartesian dualism- God has created two kinds of fundamental reality in the universe: thinking substance, and extended substance
• The study of the universe
• Pythagoras and Plato: the doctrine of numbers might be the final key to the mysteries of nature
• The simpler the mathematical formulation was better than a more complex one
• Copernicus- heliocentric solar system, suggests that the Earth is NOT the center of the universe
• The heliocentric formula was simpler than the earth-centered formula
• Kepler- supports Copernicus’ theory by showing the elliptical orbits of the planets
• Galileo: challenges previous theories that only the sun and moon had any dimension, and that stars and planets were only points of light
• 1609, Galileo constructs a telescope
• Concludes the moon is not a luminous object, might be made from Earth-like substance
• The difference between Earth and the heavens was rapidly vanishing
• Strikes a terrible blow to earlier philosophy and theology
• Galileo was condemned and forced to an ostensible recantation by his church
• Richard Simon, and the questioning of traditional beliefs
• Critical History of the Old Testament
• Old Testament rested on medieval manuscripts which were of doubtable origin
• Monkish copyists and introduced errors and corruptions
• Books by Moses couldn’t have been written by him since they contained events after his death
• People begin to deny that miracles had ever occurred and looked upon oracles and prophets with a dubious eye
• Baruch Spinoza: states that God had no existence apart from the world, and that everything was itself an aspect of god (called Pantheism)
• Denied inspiration of the Bible

Descartes: Discourse on Method

• Proclaimed the mind’s autonomy and importance
• Mind’s ability and right to comprehend truth
• Offers a method whereby one could achieve certainty, and therefore produce an understanding of nature and human culture
• Descartes believed that books would give him a clear and useful knowledge of everything needed in life
• After finishing his schooling he was disappointed in the results and felt like he had gained nothing in trying to educate himself
• Quits his studies once he is of the allowed age
• Spends a few years traveling seeing courts and armies, and acquiring varied experience and testing himself in the episodes that life sent him
• Believed that one would find more truth in the cognations which each man made on things that mattered to him
• Eventually, Descartes reaches the idea to study himself
• Rejects the opinions of the old foundation of learning and resumes them later on, or replaces them with better ones in their place
• Descartes undertook these measures in order to try and reform his ideas, and rebuild them on his own foundations
• States that the opinions of others aren’t barbaric or savage, but often at least as reasonable as one’s own
• States people are much more greatly influenced by custom and example than by any certain knowledge
• Four rules of logic:
• Never accept anything as true unless it is recognized it to be evidently such: that is to carefully avoid precipitation and prejudgment
• Divide each of the difficulties which one encounters into as many parts as possible, to acquire an easier solution
• Think in an orderly fashion beginning with the most simple things to understand and gradually by degrees reaching more complex knowledge
• Make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that one would be certain that nothing was omitted
• Descartes accepts “I think, therefore, I am” as the first principle of the philosophy he was seeking

FRQ: Scientific Revolution

Because the humanities and the sciences were alike in demanding evidence for belief and trusting in the power of reason, from 1550 to 1750, the Scientific Revolution had great impact on both religion and philosophy.

I. Introduction

II. Religion
a. Promoted Religious Skepticism
i. Knowledge of Planets and Orbit around the Sun inspired religious skeptics
ii. Absolute regularity of nature sparked skepticism among miracles that occurred in religious history
iii. Critical History of the Old Testament
1. Richard Simon, French Priest
b. Did inspire great Religious Epiphanies
i. Paschal
1. Man in Naturally Evil
2. God is the only light for salvation
a. No need for religious institutions

III. Philosophy
a. Spinoza
i. Pantheism
1. God has no existence apart from the world
2. Everything itself was an aspect of God
b. Locke
i. Mirrored the beliefs of Bacon
1. Empiricism- insisting on experience and observation as sources of truth
ii. Christianity was a reasonable form of religion
iii. Felt as if man was naturally good but government was corrupted
1. Gov’t should only serve the people’s best interests

IV. Conclusion
a. All these great thinkers encompassed in their theories religion and philosophy because they were inspired by sciences the question the ideas of their predecessors.

Hobbes, "Leviathan"

Thomas Hobbes, a selection from Leviathan

Thesis: Influenced by new, scientific perspectives, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes defends absolutism from a secular perspective by arguing that a central authority is necessary to maintain order and stability.

Background:

Previously it had been argued that the natural state of politics was orderly

The English Civil War tested absolutism

Previous defenders of absolutism had used religious justification

Scientific discoveries suggested a more rational, secular universe

Hobbes used the same rational methods, and applied them to government

Hobbes’ cynicism:

Hobbes believed human nature to be naturally chaotic, but in a rational way—we work rationally to fulfill selfish desires (“Competition, Diffedence, and Glory”)

He believed that, in the absence of government, total war would occur

A Naturalist Perspective:

The ideal state described by Hobbes would be absolutist, but perfectly rational

He proposes the idea of a social contract or “covenant” which serves all interests

Only a powerful authority can stop the state of nature

Hobbes’ ideas are not grounded in an arbitrary or religious distinction

Instead, he arrives at the absolutist solution by carefully weighing the motivations and interests of all parties involved

Hobbes “Leviathan”

Thesis: In Hobbes’ “Leviathan,” Hobbes used mathematical procedures to explain human nature.

I. Hobbes

a. British philosopher and political theorist

b. Witnessed agonies of English civil war

c. These events fortified Hobbes conviction that absolutism was the most desirable and logical form of government

II. Leviathan

a. Saw mathematical knowledge as the avenue to truth

b. Used self-evident axioms to deduce other truths

c. Aimed at constructing political philosophy on a scientific foundation

d. Rejected authority of tradition and religion as inconsistent with a science of politics

e. A rational and secular political statement

F. Bacon, "Attack on Authority and Advocacy of Experimental Science"

Thesis: Francis Bacon’s call for intellectuals to think outside of the traditional normative constrains of Aristotle’s methods of discovery were justified on moral and intellectual grounds

A. Moral

1. Remaining within a single scientific mindset allows others to dominate our thoughts- we become slaves to traditional science

2. Reality is as you make it- human perceptions and discourse means science is open to interpretation, not a fixed object.


B. Intellectual

1. Aristotle’s methods only replicate data as it appeared to him, it does not adequately explain certain phenomena

2. Aristotle’s methods cannot explain certain errors which disprove his thesis, they only gloss over them

3. Remaining within Aristotle’s learning prevent us from evaluating past discoveries and current ones- such as the years of Roman learning.

New Astronomy

Thesis: Through the works of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, Newton was able to expand on the idea of a helio-centric universe and create the idea of universal gravitation.

I. Introduction

A. Ptolemaic system

1. Earth is the center of the universe

B. Rejection of Ptolemaic system

1. leads to religious upheaval

II. Nicholas Copernicus

A. Helio-centric universe

1. sun is the center of the solar system

2. Earth revolves around the sun

B. Mathematical demonstration

1. able to prove the movement of the planets

III. Johannes Kepler

A. Orbits of planets

1. not circles, but ellipses

2. abstract mathematical figure

B. Length and speed of orbits

1. able to predict using mathematics

IV. Galileo

A. Composition of the moon

1. With use of telescope, able to see that moon is made out of same material as Earth

2. Dark side of the moon and reflection of light

B. Heavenly bodies, not so heavenly

1. showed that planets are all made out of similar substances

V.Conclusion

A.Idea of newton

1. with these concepts Newton is able to figure out Universal Gravitation

2. sun attracts Earth and gravity holds down objects on Earth

Galileo to the Grand Duchess Christina

Biblical Authority
-men are grounded
-many did not believe Galileo's message of a heliocentric solar system
-those who cannot deny the truth remain silent
-many in the church use the Bible only to solidify their position
-Bible provides some evidence of a heliocentric universe in Joshua
-a heliocentric universe does not disprove the existance of God; one can believe in both
Aristotelian Authority
-spinal cord proves that nerves originate in the brain and not in the heart
-Aristotle was the world's greatest philosopher, this disproves at least part of his teachings

Hobbes "Leviathan"

Perry: Hobbes “Leviathan”

Thesis: Hobbes, a British philosopher and political theorist, wrote “Leviathan” to break with medieval political theory. This book is a rational and secular political statement.

• Nature made men equal but there is a difference between men in their strength of the body, where the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or through help
• The mind is more equal than unequal
• From this equality of ability, equality of hope arises in attaining our Ends
• If any 2 men desire the same thing, they become enemies and endeavor to destroy, or subdue one another
• In nature of man, we find three principle causes of quarrel
• Competition
• Diffidence
• Glory
• Men invade for Gain, for Safety, for Reputation
• Violence is used to make themselves masters of others’ possession, to defend their possessions, and for trifles
• War arises – every man against every man
• Consequence of war – many enemies where men live without security
• There is no place for industry because of uncertainty; no culture of earth; no navigation; no use of commodities imported by sea; no building; no instruments of moving; no knowledge; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and there is always fear and danger of violent death
• The fear of death inclines men to peace and through industry a hope, upon which men may be drawn into agreement
• However, without a central power, every man has a right to everything and therefore, there can be no security to any man
• If there is no Power erected nor a great security, every man will rely on his own strength and art for protections against all other men
• Only way to erect and “Common Power” to defend from invasion of foreigners and injuries of one another
• “I authorize and give up my Right of Governing my self, to this Man, or to this Assembly of men, on this condition, that thou give up thy Right to him, and Authorize all his actions in like manner”
• Hobbes believes this statement should be how central power is erected
• A Commonwealth may then be able to be formed, united by this Authority
• Its essence should be like “One person, of whose Acts a great Multitude, by mutual Convenants one with another, have made themselves every one the Author , to the end he may use the strength and means of them all, as he shall think expedient, for their peace and Common Defense
• This authority is sovereign and is said to have sovereign powers while every other than him is his subjects
• Therefore, they are subjects to his Monarchy and can’t return to confusion of disunited Multitude
• If they depose him, they take from him that which is his own and so it is injustice
• There is no covenant with God, but by mediation of some body that represents God’s Person

Bacon: Attack on Authority and Advocacy of Human Science

Francis Bacon, in New Organon, lays out tenets of self reliance and new outlooks in science, and he criticizes the fallacious ways of thinking based on given systems of philosophy.

I. Man can do and understand so much only as he has observed in fact or in thought of the course of nature.

II. The sciences they had at the time were/are merely systems for nice ordering and setting forth things already invented

III. Logic that is in use serves to just fix what seems to be erroneous, therefore does more harm than good.

IV. Axioms and theories already established should not avail for the discovery of new works. Therefore each new discovery has its own argument.

V. “Idols” are false notions that hamper human understanding

VI. There are four sets of Idols:

a. Idols of the Tribe – the false assertion that the sense of men is the measure of things

b. Idols of the Cave – each man having his own cave which obfuscates the light the of nature

c. Idols of the Market – The interaction of men, and by this discourse words are imposed according to the apprehension of the vulgar

d. Idols of the Theatre – idols which have immigrated into men’s minds from the various dogmas of philosophies, and also from wrong laws of demonstration

Principia Mathematica?!

Thesis: The experimental method is the means of acquiring knowledge.

-Senses provide the most reliable and real form of perception.

-Postulation of gravity, the force which pulls everything towards the center of the Earth.

-The moon gravitates toward the Earth and the sea gravitates toward the moon.

-General induction provides some of the most valuable hypotheses which can be built upon.

-God is the intellectual and powerful ruler of his universe, which he has mathematically designed to perfection.

W. Harvey: "On the Motions of the Heart"

William Harvey, by means of dissection and observation, concludes that much of what we know about the heart is the opposite of how it actually functions.

The heart has two positions, stiff and soft. It stiffens when it contracts, and softens when it rises and presses against the breast. At that point the pulse is felt externally.

When the heart contracts, it is pushing out blood. If one were too feel the heart during the process, one would feel it harden. This action is similar to what the muscles of the body do. The hardness is the product of tension.


When the heart contracts and pushes out the blood, it can be seen to grow paler in color, and then brighten again when more blood rushes in.

It was previously believed that the heart was pushing out blood when one felt the pulse on one’s chest, but on the contrary that is when the heart is filling up with blood and preparing to push it out when it contracts.

Timothy Bulso

Cardinal Bellarmine: Attack on the Copernican Theory

Cardinal Bellarmine argues against Copernicus’s heliocentric theory, citing its contradiction to scripture and church tradition by relying on the authority of the church (old authority) rather than observation of nature (new).

• A heliocentric universe would render scripture false, therefore it would be dangerous to pursue such an idea and doubt would be cast on the whole of scripture
• Even if scripture were to be interpreted as supporting the theory, it still goes against the consensus of the Holy Fathers
• Scripture clearly defends a geocentric universe (relying on the Bible as an authority)

Newton, "principia Mathematica"

Thesis: Newton introduced many new concepts regarding gravity, movement, and scientific thinking while the whole time stressing reason and not making assumptions not proved in experimental procedures.

I. Stressed simplicity

a. Nature is happy with simplicity

b. Do not try to complicate matters by being superfluous

II. If something has been proved through an experiment, it can not be ignored for the sake of other aspirations

a. The only way one can ignore the results of an experiment is if another experiment proves it to be wrong

III. Recognized the existence of gravity

a. Knew it extended a long way and the strength decreased with an increase in distance

IV. Still attributed the creation of everything beautiful in the world to God

a. Light, especially, was the work of God

b. Said that God still belonged in parts of science

Perry, v. 2- Isaac Newton- Principia Mathematica

Perry, v. 2- Isaac Newton- Principia Mathematica

Will Stewart

Thesis: In his Principia Mathematica, Newton outlines universal law and asserts the experimental method as a way to acquire knowledge.

Rule 1. Nature does nothing in vain, values simplicity

Rule 2. Similar phenomena can be attributed to the same causes

-meteorites in Europe and America

-fire in a stove and the sun

Rule 3. Qualities found in all bodies subject to experiment can be assumed to be present in all bodies everywhere.

-Inertia

-all bodies, and therefore all particles, are mobile

Rule 4- anything experimentally determined to be true is considered to be true until proven wrong

Gravity- determined by quantity of particles

-discovery using impenetrability, mobility, and impulsive forces

God and the Universe

-star systems were placed by God immense distances from each other

-god directly rules over everything

-he is living, intelligent, and powerful

-he is intangible, and humans cannot understand his being

Nicolaus Copernicus – On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

To Pope Paul III, asking him to protect him from vilification

Addresses the Pope Paul III and acknowledges that his statement will cause a lot of controversy

· Believes that false ideas should rebuked

· Philosopher’s ideas are “not subject to the judgment of ordinary persons”

“Id debated with myself for a long time whether to publish the volume which I wrote to prove the earth’s motion or rather to follow the example of Pythagoreans and others”

· Pytagoreans – spread knowledge or “philosophy’s secrets” only to kinsmen and by mouth

o The were “jealous about their teachings”

o Didn’t want their ideas to be ridiculed

· “they played the same part among philosophers as drones among bees”

o compares “dull minded” people to drone bees

Tells about friends who encouraged him to publish his works

· cardinal of Capua, Schonberg and Tiedemann Giese

· “the crazier my doctrine of the earth’s motion now appeared to most people…so much the more admiration and thanks would it gain”

o ended up publishing it asking Pope Paul

Read over ancient texts to determine the motion of the Earth

· Cicero, Plutarch, etc.

Explains his book to Pope Paul III

· Found that going by the traditional view of Earth being the center of the universe, all the other motions of the “heavenly spheres” would not make sense

· Earth is also in motion

Confident – “I have no doubt that acute and leaned astronomers will agree with me if, as this discipline especially requires, they are willing to examine and consider, not superficially but thoroughly”

· “astronomy is written for astronomers – to them my work too will seem, unless I am mistaken, to make some contribution”

Galileo Galilei Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina

MEHAP-Andrew Fortugno

Perry- Galileo Galilei Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina and Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems- Ptolemaic and Copernican

Galileo Galilei Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina

Galileo argues God intended us to our senses and reason, which is against those who denounce that the earth, moves about the sun by citing biblical passages

· Men well grounded in astronomical and physical science were persuaded as soon as they received Galileo’s first message

· Those arguing would have us all together abandon reason and the evidence of our sense for in favor of some biblical passage.

· Galileo argue against condemning Copernicus’ book they way these people do, without understanding weight, or even reading it

· The bible does state the sun moves around the earth but, Galileo argues that nobody will deny that the bible is often very abstruse, and may say things which are quite different from what its bare words signify

· Galileo states that he does feel obliged to believe that that same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended to forgo their use and by some other means to give us knowledge with which can obtain them.

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems- Ptolemaic and Copernican

Galileo attacks the unquestionable acceptance of Aristotle’s teachings.

· Simplicio is an Aristotelian who asks who would we look to without Aristotle

· Salviati a spokesman for Galileo states that he reproaches those who gives themselves up as slaves to Aristotle and they are in fact only historians or memory experts, not philosophers.

· Sagredo introduces the problem with relaying on the authority of Aristotle

Copernicus "On THe Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"

Thesis: Copernicus' theory of Earth's orbit proved so groundbreaking that Copernicus sought the protection of Pope Paul III against his critics.

I. Dedicated to Pope Paul III

a. Debated for a while on whether to publish

b. He feared ridicule of defying common ideas

c. Almost abandoned work when considering the scorn he would face

d. Encouraged by friends

II. Copernicus came up with his discovery after discovering differences in his study of the stars

III. Copernicus asks for Pope’s protection from disbelievers

a. Those who do not understand astronomy might destroy his theories

b. Those in astronomy will see some contribution in his papers