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Galileo
Galileo Galileo "Whereas Galileo spent his last days under house arrest and was formally condemned by the Church for his scientific views, the elder Darwin was widely respected by the Anglican Church and was buried at the Westminster Abbey, an honor reserved for only the most illustrious personages of Great Britain. The reason for the two scientists' very different fortunes is simple: Galileo couldn't prove the Copernican hypothesis but Darwin was able to demonstrate the truth of his theory of evolution." In the world of Galileo proof was what was needed to succeed with a scientific hypothesis. In the world of Darwin proof was not needed for a scientific hypothesis to succeed. There were many differences in the worlds of these two great scientists that lead to the reaction to their respective scientific hypothesize. It was not their beliefs alone that led to their peer's views it was also the way each of them conducted themselves. Galileo worked his way to become a respected scientist by most of the intellectual community but he was also despised by many because of his background and because of his attitude towards others. Darwin was well respected by the intellectual community, but the difference was the way they conducted themselves when they were dealing with their hypothesizes. Galileo's Hypothesis Galileo was well known for standing up for what he believed in and pushing the things he wanted. He was constantly writing letters and engaging in debates over the issue of Copernicanism. Galileo's entire reason for doing this was to make the scientific and religious communities accept that Copernicanism was actually a fact and that there was enough proof to believe it. One example of the way Galileo strongly pushed his beliefs on others was the way he preached Copernicanism to the people of Rome in 1615. While he was in Rome trying to improve the church's opinion of him, Galileo was also debating the Aristotelians over this issue and beating them at their own game. Because of his natural talent for debate and because of his intelligence was able to outwit the Aristotelians in these debates. Galileo acted this way because he believed that he was in a position to make these kinds of statements without getting on the wrong side of the church. These actions show that Galileo was very insistent upon his ideas and upon what other people and the church thought of them. By preaching and debating Galileo was trying to force his ideas into acceptance by the church. His methods were highly unusual; he tried to force acceptance of his ideas because he believed his findings to be conclusive and had enough proof for people to accept. But when the actual facts are looked at it is very easy to come to the conclusion that there was no definitive proof that the earth and other planets orbit around the sun. Galileo in his papers and speeches tried to hide his lack of proof by focusing on only what he knew. His actions on the hypothesis are the complete opposite of the ideas of modern science. In modern science a hypothesis is always trying to be proven like Galileo was doing but it in never stated as truth until conclusive proof is demonstrated. While Galileo is considered one of the founders of modern science is very easy to see that some of his actions were not very scientific. The fact that Galileo was trying to have people accept his hypothesis, as a fact is one of the major problems with Galileo's fight for Copernicanism. Galileo's other major problem with his fight for Copernicanism was that he was too cocky and believed that since his ideas made the most sense people should give up the old paradigm and believe Copernicanism to be true. If Galileo had been more cautious about preaching his ideas and has spent more time trying to prove his hypothesis scientifically he would have most likely been better off in his later years. He would have avoided much of the controversy that surrounded him by the church and might have just gotten off with another warning. Since Galileo was the man he was, he could not en...This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Electronic References. Please register below now! Get This Full Article After Registration
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