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Galileo's The Starry Messenger & Other Readings

Discussion Led by Scott Hildreth

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"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." -Galileo

 

Background Information

The Galileo Project Biography (1996) Rice University. Available online:

http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/Files/galilei_gal.html

Initial Questions:

1) Have you ever looked through a telescope before?  Have you seen the Moon, or Jupiter, or Saturn?  What did you think, seeing it "live" for the very first time?

2) What do you already know about Galileo?

3) What one thing would you LIKE to know about him, about the process of science, or the solar system?

Initial Activity

Picture an Astronomer...

Reading Assignment

Text: Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, Stillman Drake (tr.), Anchor Books, New York. 1957.

Electronic Resources

Galileo Galilei (2001) The Institute and Museum of the History of Science of Florence, Italy Multimedia Catalogue - Room IV. Available online at: http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/museo/b/egalilg.html

Kusukawa, S. (1999) Galileo. Department of History and Philosophy of Science of the University of Cambridge. Available online at: http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/galileo.html

Van Helden, A. (1996) The Galileo Project. Rice University. http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/

Siderius Nuncias (summary) (2001) High Altitude Observatory. (NCAL) Available online at: http://www.hao.ucar.edu/public/education/sp/images/galileo.1.html

Siderius Nuncias (in latin) available online at: http://www.gmu.edu/departments/fld/CLASSICS/galileo/galileo.sid.html

Information about Galileo's Telescope: Build a telescope like Galileo's!

Essay Questions

Drafts are due Monday, 11/24, to your tutor; before the Thanksgiving Break! Remember that submitting a draft on time is considered in your overall class assessment.

Final drafts are due a week later, Monday, 12/1. 

1. Examine Galileo's arguments in The Starry Messenger concerning the surface of the moon, the issue of "earthshine", the abundance of unseen stars, and the moons of Jupiter. How does his writing convey the importance of these discoveries?
   
   
2. Galileo does not admit to the possibility that his interpretations of his observations might be incorrect. Discuss whether this approach is appropriate given the nature of the proof he collected, and given the intended audience of his book and letters.
   
   
3. Compare the style of scientific arguments made by Galileo to that of Darwin. Which was more effective, considering their intended audience?
   
   
4. Compare the style of argument made by Galileo in The Starry Messenger with that used in his Letters on Sunspots, regarding the observations of 'Apelles' (Christopher Scheiner). Was the style similar? Why or why not?
   
   
5. Some scholars look upon Galileo's battle with the Catholic Church as the single most important event leading to an irreparable schism between science and religion. From your examination of his writings, in particular The Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (but not neglecting The Starry Messenger and the Letters on Sunspots), was Galileo religious? Support your thesis with ample citations from the book.
   
   
6. Evaluate Galileo's Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina, in terms of its success in defending his beliefs, and in terms of the phrasing and arguments used given the nature and position of its intended recipient, the Grand Duchess.
   
   
7. Using either The Starry Messenger or The Letters on Sunspots, illustrate and discuss the key pieces of the scientific method as practiced by Galileo.
   
   
8. Discuss Galileo's use of language throughout the book and within his letters, as it relates to science's need for effective communication to advance towards an accepted view of truth.

As always, you are free to consider another topic than one of the above as long as you discuss it in advance with your tutor.