Galileo Letter To Castelli Summary

Galileo: Science, Scripture, and Truth Among the academics that fostered growth in developing European society and scholasticism, Galileo Galilei holds a hierarchy attributable to the highly dynamic time period that his life spanned, as well as an unmatchable intellect that fostered vital observations in the sixteenth century. Often defamed for his religiously controversial discoveries and scientific ideals, Galileo repeatedly rose to contest institutions, like the Catholic church and its adherents, in order to cornerstone the secularization of European science and philosophy. Evident in his “Letter to Castelli” and “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina,” Galileo asserts that there is no use for Catholic scripture in the pursuit of science and reason, though he still gives ample merit to a better-suited purpose of purifying and saving souls. These letters demonstrate a deep opposition to putting faith-based and logically unsound Catholic opinion above calculated and certified scientific fact, which would obliterate any truth to the goal of understanding the physical world. Galileo addressed his “Letter to Castelli” in 1613 in order to confront Beneditto Castelli and his contradictive inclusion of Holy Scripture into the scientific discussion he held with certain Italian nobility. Claiming that Holy Word …show more content…
Galileo highlights the absurdity in the belief that “the same God who has furnished us with sense, language, and intellect would want to bypass their use” and, instead, blindly follow the teachings of scripture that scholars could independently collect or even perfect (106). The letter to Castelli displays the overwhelming confidence of Galileo and an equally powerful dismissal of religious opposition, as he knows they could not disprove his opinions reason and ultimate