Galileo Galilei: An Astronomer, A Physicist, And A Liar
Humans lie. They lie to protect themselves, they lie to protect others, they lie to get themselves out of sticky situations. Regardless of the reasoning as to why, it is instilled in almost every being to lie about something at some point in their lives. Who’s to say Galileo Galilei, the famous Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer is any different? Galileo may be a very important man of his time however him renouncing his scientific theories as a result of facing a life sentence creates confusion over what he truly believed. In the seventeenth century, Ptolemy’s theory, which placed the Earth at the center of the solar system, was the idea that was accepted and supported by the Catholic Church. Galileo, a godly man, published a book disagreeing with this popular belief, instead supporting Copernicus’ heliocentric theory and shortly after was imprisoned.
During his trial he recanted his beliefs, and claimed, “as I still hold, as very true and undoubted Ptolemy's opinion, namely the stability of the earth and the motion of the sun”. The question now is, did Galileo truly back the geocentric model, or was he pressured into lying to avoid life in prison? Early to mid-seventeenth century, due to the significance of the Catholic Church in Rome, the most widespread accepted idea in regards to the organization of the universe was the geocentric model. The geocentric model places the earth stable at the center with the universe revolving around it. With Galileo being a Roman Catholic himself, it would make sense that he too supported this theory, however his observations seemed to contradict that of the church’s teachings. In a letter to Monsignor Piero Dini he even says, “So far as possible, I should like to show them that they are mistaken, but my mouth is stopped and I am ordered not to go into the Scriptures. This amounts to saying that Copernicus’ book, accepted by the Church, contains heresies and may be preached against by anyone who pleases (sic) while it is forbidden for anyone to get into the controversy and show that it is not contrary to Scripture…”. It is evident that although he was a man of God, he still viewed the universe differently than what was accepted during this time. His private letters prove that while he didn’t necessarily agree with Ptolemy's model, the negative stigma surrounding him coming forth defending anything that contradicts it, would result in him facing legal repercussions. Common sense says if sharing new findings leads to prison, it may not be the best bet to publish them, hence why Galileo’s true beliefs are not explicit. If anybody were to look Galileo up on the internet, they will come back with the idea that he simply released a book supporting the heliocentric theory. However, what he later says during his trial makes it seem as if he were just speaking on the hypothesis rather than standing behind it. Once again this leaves the mind open to ponder if he merely said those things to avoid serving life.
According to Finocchiaro, “. . . the astronomical discoveries Galileo made in 1609-1612 by means of the newly invented telescope: mountains on the Moon, satellites around Jupiter, phases exhibited by Venus, and sunspots. ” These observations are what started his more open pursuit of heliocentrism, which eventually led to an investigation on his writing. While they did not fully prove the Sun-centered theory, they did refute some of the potential faults people found in it. Later on Galileo was accused of heresy due to his stance that the Earth is in motion, which he wound up renouncing. This stance was said to “contradict Scripture, e. g. , the miracle in Joshua 10:12-13”. Obviously, prior to being indicted in 1633, Galileo was in favor of the idea that the sun was in fact stationary. Nothing came from the initial inquisition, thus he continued to go about his studies quietly until the pope, Pope Paul V, who had told him to not further hold or defend the ideas of Copernicus, was replaced. Without a doubt, Galileo seemed to still seem to agree with the newly prohibited theory since he went on to write on the topic once again in 1623 in a piece called Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems. Along with the publishment of Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems came the serious implications for Galileo. In 1633 the sale of the book was banned, and he was condemned. His trial is where the confusion on his true opinions arise. In his book, a “simpleton supports an Earth-centered view of the solar system, and is subsequently proven wrong…”. Ultimately, this simpleton reflected the catholic people and vindicated the proposal of a sun centered universe. As reported by Mianecki, this was considered heresy due to his opposition to the Church’s modern views and, “undermined contemporary ideas about the structure of the universe and the placement of heaven and hell. ”
Despite what seemed like certainty in his writing, Galileo quickly left those opinions behind during his depositions. During his first deposition he says, “I do not think that by writing this book I was contradicting at all the injunction given me not to hold, defend, or teach the said opinion, but rather that I was refuting it. . . in the said book I show the contrary of Copernicus’s opinion and show that Copernicus’s reasons are invalid and inconclusive”. It is apparent that Galileo may not have been truthful in saying this due what he said in the previously mentioned letter to Monsignor Piero Dini. In his letter he spoke on how he believed, “the surest and swiftest way to prove that the position of Copernicus is not contrary to Scripture would be to give a host of proofs that it is true and that the contrary cannot be maintained at all”. Clearly, before he realized that solely backing Copernicus’ beliefs could result in the life sentence, he wanted to share and defend them. While it is understandable that Galileo is willing to retract previous statements in order to not be punished as harshly, it arouses uncertainty over which side he truly agreed with. At one point he seemed to be in full support of the heliocentric hypothesis, and even made personal observations to help in proving its credibility. The next he claimed to be refuting it and discussing how it was invalid. Galileo’s sudden change in perspective, and retraction of his earlier beliefs, makes it seem as if he were lying in order to protect himself. It is important to note that since the outcome of his first interrogation is not what had been expected, a plea bargain was arranged. According to Wolf, “He was told that if he admitted to having gone too far in his treatment of heliocentrism, he would be let off with a light punishment. Galileo agreed…” This further proves the suspicion that he may have not been completely honest in his recantation when he claimed, “I have always believed, do believe, and by God's help will in the future believe, all that is held, preached, and taught by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church”. It’s sensible that Galileo decided to claim allegiance to the Catholic Church and claim his theories on the universe are that similar of what the church says in order to simply avoid worse repercussions.
By declaring that he doesn’t stand behind the heliocentric model he was let of with life on house arrest rather than life in prison. To say Galileo was a liar, may be a bit too much. While it is obvious he had to at least support Copernicus’ theory to some extent due to the observations he made and letters he wrote, he was faced with two options. His choices were to either lie or claim to be in full agreeance with the geocentric model, or rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life. Logically he pushed his own personal thoughts to the side and made the decision to ultimately benefit him. With that being said, only he would be able to fully confirm his true beliefs.
Works Cited
- Finocchiaro, Maurice. 'The Catholic Church and Copernicanism. ' Origins. 18 Apr. 2019.
- Galilei, Galileo. 'Letter from Galileo to Monsignor Piero Dini (excerpt). ' Letter from Galileo to Cardinal Dini (May, 1615). 18 Apr. 2019.
- Galilei, Galileo. 'Recantation. ' Recantation of Galileo Galilei in 1633. 18 Apr. 2019.
- 'Galileo's First Deposition. ' 18 Apr. 2019.
- 'Galileo's Fourth Deposition, June 21, 1633. ' 18 Apr. 2019.
- Mianecki, Julie. '378 Years Ago Today: Galileo Forced to Recant. ' Smithsonian. com. 22 June 2011. Smithsonian Institution. 18 Apr. 2019.
- Wolf, Jessica. 'The truth about Galileo and his conflict with the Catholic Church. ' UCLA Newsroom. 22 Dec. 2016. 18 Apr. 2019.
