GALILEO AND THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
Readings:

Bronowski, Jacob: "The Starry Messenger," Chapter 6 in The Ascent of Man.

Galilei, Galileo: Discovery and Opinions of Galileo (Ed. S. Drake):

"The Starry Messenger"

"Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina"

"Letters on Sunspots"

"The Assayer"

Questions to consider in writing your essay:

What are the most convincing observations Galileo reports in "The Starry Messenger" that support the Copernican theory that the earth moves around the sun? What did Galileo's later discovery of the phases of Venus contribute to discussions of the Copernican theory?
A major component of Galileo's new contributions to science in the 17th century was his appreciation that mathematics was the key to understanding Nature. Why was this view "revolutionary" in Galileo's day, and what evidence did he have to support the idea that mathematics is the "language" of Nature? How did mathematics serve Galileo in supporting the Copernican theory?

What does Galileo say in his "Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina" and the "Assayer" about the relationship between science and religion? Galileo's critics argued that the Copernican theory contradicted the Bible, and should therefore be rejected. Why did Galileo believe that science was not in conflict with religion, and indeed, could be taken as a positive rather than a negative factor in theology?

Finally, assume the role of one of Galileo's Aristotelian critics (not one of his theological critics). Put your arguments against Galileo in your own letter addressed to the Grand Duchess Christina. What objections could you have made at the time to his assertion that the earth moved, and that the cosmos was heliocentric rather than geocentric? What physical arguments would you raise (rather than simply refer to the Bible) to refute Galileo's support of Copernicus? What philosophical or metaphysical arguments might you use as part of the Scholastic opposition to the heliocentric theory? You should indent this part of your essay, provide a transitional sentence to this paragraph, and begin with a salutation: "Dear Grand Duchess Christina." Be sure to write as if you were one of Galileo's academic (and not on of his religious) opponents.

Complete your paper with a final paragraph, reflecting upon your "letter" and why it was that, nevertheless, Galileo and the Copernicans eventually prevailed in the course of the Scientific Revolution.

NOTES ON STYLE AND FORMAT

Title and headers: Give your essay a title, and under the title (centered), skip a space and then center your name on the next line, with your e-mail address on the next, at the top of the first page. At the top of each subsequent page, left-justify a header with the following information, including page numbers in the upper right-hand corner:

Your name here: daniel cas Page ##
Title of your essay here: Galileo and the Scientific Revolution
Date: March 17, 2013
Please format your essay leaving 1" top and bottom margins, a left margin of 1", and a right margin of 1 1/2". Be sure to double-space the body of your essay.

The following cover some basic points which you should keep in mind as you prepare the final version of your essay. In general, your essay should follow basic rules of style, format, punctuation, spelling, grammar, readable English prose, etc. Among the most common sorts of errors, or items to which you should pay particular attention in writing your essay, are the following:

Accents: Check carefully, especially in translations, for correct accents on all foreign words, which should be italicized unless they are proper names.

Antecedents: If you refer to something like "this example...," be sure "this" has a correct antecedent, i.e. there must be a reference to an example of some sort in the preceding line or lines. He/she/it/they also require identifiable antecedents in the preceding sentence.

Citations: Please provide references to all work you quote or summarize, or draw on in providing background for your essay. You may do so by short bracketed references to works you should then include in a bibliography at the end of your essay. If you cite Bronowski, for example, cite as follows: [Bronowski 1974: 74], or [Galileo, "The Starry Messenger," as quoted in Drake 1957: 87]. You should then include these in a bibliography at the end of your essay, using the following format:

Bronowski, Jacob. The Ascent of Man. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1957.

Galilei, Galileo. Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo. Stillman Drake, ed. New York: Anchor, 1957.

Colloquial expressions: Remember that you are writing an academic paper, one that should reflect a serious level of scholarship and your best writing. Do not use colloquial expressions such as "an awful lot," "figure out," etc. Avoid abbreviations like "math" for "mathematics"; use "examinations" instead of "exams" or "television" instead of "TV"; do not use contractions, but write "is not" instead of "isn't," etc.
Paragraph indentation: Indent each paragraph by 1/2", consistently, throughout your entire essay.

Punctuation: Quotations should be punctuated either as follows: "....last word." or "....last word," [Galileo, "The Assayer," as quoted in Drake (ed): 1957: 39].

Split infinitives: Please avoid split infinitives unless absolutely necessary; it may no longer be a requirement in written English, but at least you will avoid offending anyone who still finds split infinitives a mark of indifferent writing! i.e. "to speak out publicly" reads better than "to publicly speak out.