Analysis Of Galileo's Letter To The Grand Duchess Christina

Register to read the introduction… The Bible was written so that the common man could understand it and follow its commandments. The people also showed a greater interest in their reasoning, rather than the quest for true understanding. Through the use of science, one is able to eliminate ambiguous language and communicate in a more finite and precise language, thus eliminating the …show more content…
What Galileo was arguing was, if the faculties of the senses are G-d given, so is the need for reason, which in this case would be science, more specifically his scientific claims. By choosing not to question and reason all that was presented as the truth, one was choosing not to follow one of the actual Scriptural truths. Furthermore, this claim opposed what Aristotle proved to be the truth (the Church’s convention), and “therefore mistrusting their defense so long as they confine themselves to the field of philosophy, these men have resolved to fabricate a shield for their fallacies out of the mantle of pretended religion and the authority of the Bible.” Even though his teachings were not accepted by the general public, there were a few religious figures that backed up his statements. For example, in his letter, Galileo mentions St. Augustine when discussing the physical connections of the Heavenly bodies. Not only does he do so to “name-drop”, for St. Augustine was a highly revered religious figure at that time, but it also showed that he was not trying to take down the church, but provide better tools with which to understand it. Furthermore, by mentioning St. Augustine in his Letter to The Grand Duchess, Galileo created a platform for himself showing that he was not a heretic, and not trying to disprove religious beliefs, rather clarify them through science. This is a smart move on his behalf, because his name-dropping is able to give himself a credible image and thus strengthen his