Title: Galileo on the world systems : a new abridged translation and guide /
Authors: Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642; Finocchiaro, Maurice A., 1942-; Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642.; Finocchiaro, Maurice A., 1942-
Publisher: University of California Press,
Year: 1997
Subjects: Galilei, Galileo,; Astronomy Early works to 1800; Astronomy history; Solar System; Extraterrestrial Environment; Solar system Early works to 1800.; Solar system.
Abstract: Galileo's 1632 book, Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican, comes alive for twentieth-century readers thanks to Maurice Finocchiaro's brilliant new translation and presentation. Condemned by the Inquisition for its heretical proposition that the earth revolves around the sun, Galileo's masterpiece takes the form of a debate, divided into four Days, among three highly articulate gentlemen. Finocchiaro sets the stage with his Introduction, which not only provides the human and historical framework for the Dialogue but also admits the reader gracefully into the basic non-Copernican understanding of the universe that would have been shared by Galileo's original audience. The translation of the Dialogue is abridged in order to highlight its essential content, and Finocchiaro gives titles to the various parts of the debate as a guide to the principal topics. Focusing on those universal, perennial activities of the human mind that make Galileo's book a living document, Finocchiaro elucidates the mental skills of critical reasoning, methodological reflection, and verbal rhetoric. With an appendix devoted to these activities and their place in the Dialogue, he offers the reader a concrete, hands-on introduction to critical thinking. Galileo on the World Systems is a remarkably nuanced interpretation of a classic work and will give readers the tools to understand and evaluate for themselves one of the most influential scientific books in Western civilization. -- from back cover.
Contents: 1. Significance of Galileo's Dialogue -- 2. The Geostatic Worldview -- 3. The Copernican Controversy -- 4. The Galileo Affair -- 5. Historical Aftermath and Philosophical Prelude -- Selections from Galileo's Dialogue -- Outline of Selections -- To the Discerning Reader. 1. Preface -- First Day. 2. Natural Motion and Aristotle's Logic. 3. Heavenly Changes and Aristotle's Empiricism. 4. Life on the Moon, and Human versus Divine Understanding -- Second Day. 5. Independent-Mindedness and the Role of Aristotle's Authority. 6. Diurnal Rotation, Simplicity, and Probability. 7. The Case against Terrestrial Rotation and the Value of Critical Reasoning. 8. Vertical Fall, Superposition of Motions, and the Role of Experiments. 9. Extruding Power and the Role of Mathematics. 10. The Deception of the Senses and the Relativity of Motion -- Third Day. 11. Heliocentrism and the Role of the Telescope. 12. The Role of the Bible. 13. Stellar Dimensions and the Concept of Size. 14. Stellar Parallax and the Fruitfulness of a Research Program -- Fourth Day. 15. The Cause of the Tides and the Inescapability of Error. 16. Ending -- App. 1. Critical Reasoning -- App. 2. Methodological Reflection -- App. 3. Varieties of Rhetoric.