Galileo and His Systems Social Sciences Essay Research (Essay Sample)

Galileo and His Systems
Name
Institution
Date
Galileo published the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems in response to his previous conviction by the Inquisition of the Holy Office for challenging the contemporary biblical authority. The two systems, he referred to, are ostensibly the Copernican perspective claiming the world revolved around the sun and the Aristotelian Ptolemy assertion that the sun revolved around the earth. Considering the Church subscribed strongly to the Ptolemy discourse, Galileo's arguments led to his condemnation on the basis he insinuated people should base their knowledge on science and not biblical heresy. Despite his occasional conflict with the authorities, Galileo is the pioneer of modern science, who through the three areas of physics, astronomy, and methodology revolutionized evidence-based research.
Prior to Galileo's work on the Copernican system, the prevailing knowledge about the universe centered mostly on Aristotelian philosophy or Ptolemy. The latter schools of thoughts were consistent with the Scriptural postulation of the sun being in motion around the earth. Thusly argued, the earth constituted the center of the universe from which all other heavenly bodies rotated. Given the faithful Christians strongly supported Aristotle's arguments about the centrality of the earth, the church viewed any teachings appearing to undermine the standpoint as a threat to theological credibility. Consequently, it prescribed a range of penalties like execution, jail terms, and an exile to individuals opposed to Aristotle's perspective on heavenly bodies and their relative motion around each other. The church ruthlessly dealt with critics of Ptolemy on the basis they were anti-religion.