What Pope wanted Galileo to include in his book

In summary, the conversation discusses the conditions set by Pope Urban III for Galileo to write a book about his ideas on the solar system. These conditions included including a paragraph written by the Pope on God's omnipotence in the book. However, the person speaking has been unable to locate this paragraph in their copy of "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems." The conversation also references how Simplicio, a character in the book, expresses the Pope's views and how this portrayal caused controversy and led to Galileo being called to Rome to defend his writings.
  • #1
LalithP
5
0
Hi,
It is often said one of the conditions Pope Urban III granted Galileo permission to write a book expressing his ideas on the solar system was that Galileo would include a paragraph written by the Pope on God's omnipotence. I have been trying unsuccessfully to locate this in a copy of " Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" I have. Does anybody know what/where it is.
 
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  • #2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

excerpt from the wikipedia article references that simplicio expresses the Pope's views:
Earlier, Pope Urban VIII had personally asked Galileo to give arguments for and against heliocentrism in the book, and to be careful not to advocate heliocentrism. He made another request, that his own views on the matter be included in Galileo's book. Only the latter of those requests was fulfilled by Galileo. Whether unknowingly or deliberately, Simplicio, the defender of the Aristotelian Geocentric view in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, was often caught in his own errors and sometimes came across as a fool. Indeed, although Galileo states in the preface of his book that the character is named after a famous Aristotelian philosopher (Simplicius in Latin, Simplicio in Italian), the name "Simplicio" in Italian also has the connotation of "simpleton".[56] This portrayal of Simplicio made Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems appear as an advocacy book: an attack on Aristotelian geocentrism and defence of the Copernican theory. Unfortunately for his relationship with the Pope, Galileo put the words of Urban VIII into the mouth of Simplicio. Most historians agree Galileo did not act out of malice and felt blindsided by the reaction to his book.[57] However, the Pope did not take the suspected public ridicule lightly, nor the Copernican advocacy. Galileo had alienated one of his biggest and most powerful supporters, the Pope, and was called to Rome to defend his writings.[58]

Here's a more detailed reference:

http://web.archive.org/web/20071209...net/rcc/Periodicals/Issues/GalileoAffair.html
 
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1. What was the main conflict between Pope and Galileo?

The main conflict between Pope and Galileo was regarding the inclusion of the heliocentric model of the solar system in Galileo's book "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems". The Pope wanted Galileo to include a disclaimer stating that the heliocentric model was only a hypothesis and not a proven fact.

2. Why did the Pope want Galileo to include a disclaimer in his book?

The Pope wanted to avoid any potential conflict with the Catholic Church, which at the time believed in the geocentric model of the universe, with Earth at the center. The inclusion of a disclaimer would have allowed the Church to maintain their beliefs while not outright rejecting Galileo's ideas.

3. Did Galileo comply with the Pope's request?

Initially, Galileo agreed to include the disclaimer in his book in order to get it published. However, he later removed it without the Pope's knowledge and instead included it in the preface of the book. This action ultimately led to Galileo's trial by the Inquisition.

4. What was the outcome of the conflict between Pope and Galileo?

Galileo's book was eventually published, but he was summoned to Rome and put on trial by the Inquisition for heresy. He was found guilty and placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. It wasn't until 1992 that the Catholic Church officially acknowledged their error in condemning Galileo.

5. How did the conflict between Pope and Galileo impact the scientific community?

The conflict between Pope and Galileo had a significant impact on the scientific community. It highlighted the tensions between science and religion and the importance of freedom of inquiry and expression. It also paved the way for the acceptance of the heliocentric model and the rejection of blind adherence to traditional beliefs.

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