Religion In Galileo's Daughter

In Galileo’s Daughter, Dava Sobel assembles an account of Galileo’s attempt to prove the heliocentric model of the universe in a world where mans’ logical reasoning is potent, yet second to his devotion to God, and by relation, the Catholic Church. Sobel writes about Galileo’s tendency to question the reasoning of those around him. Though it may not be apparent, Galileo was born into a world of great similarity to the modern day. In Galileo’s time, Science was seen as blasphemy and a tool to undermine the construct of God. Moreover, it didn’t help matters that at the time, the Church was the governing body throughout Italy. This made it particularly difficult for scientific advancement, as any theory that suggested conflict with religious teaching …show more content…
Theodore Schick’s book, Doing Philosophy, identifies the relationship between logical reasoning and the origin of religion. Throughout history, there have been particular instances when this problem of religious dispute has come to face particularly large amounts of consideration. In essence, it is during these times of great change in widespread understanding, such as during the Roman Inquisition; an age chronicled in Dava Sobel’s, Galileo’s Daughter, that this annoyance becomes a significant problem for humanity. Evidently, the institution of religion is so deeply integrated into human social behavior, that many have come to accept it as fact. Given that, it must be understood that religion is an outdated establishment created to explain what could not previously be understood. Markedly, in this establishment, we sacrifice the truth within our understanding in exchange for a wider scope of explanation. Consequently, this breeds an interpretation of reality that expresses a less than real understanding of the world. This becomes problematic when such beliefs become so widely held that one can misappropriate them to discount factual evidence. Under no circumstance are we justified to partake in the practice exhibited in Galileo’s Daughter, in which the Church denounces the validity of worldly observations, on the ground that it conflicts with the doctrine of its religious