Transcript Ending the Conflict: Science, Religion, and the Universe

Ending the Conflict:
Science, Religion, and
the Universe
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With Contributions from Betsy (River) Baker, Josephine Lee, and Loreal Robertson
View of the Universe 500 Years Ago:
Based on ancient speculation, the Earth was
considered to be the center of the universe.
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The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) speculated that
celestial objects were attached to fifty-five crystalline spheres
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that rotated around the Earth at the center of the Universe.
Three Guiding Principles
Aristotle’s
Prime Mover
Earth is at
the center
of the
Universe.
All motion
in the
heavens is
uniform
circular
motion.
Celestial
objects are
made from
perfect
material and
cannot
change their
properties
(e.g., their
brightness).
PROBLEM: Ancient model could not explain
retrograde motion and varying brightness
That celestial object is
moving backwards and
getting brighter.
That can’t be!
Point of Reference
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SOLUTION: Epicycles and deferents preserved
guiding principles and explained observations.
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Movement of the Planets: As the center of the epicycle
moves around the deferent, the planet moves around
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the epicycle. The blue line shows the apparent path.
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Further Refinements: To account for the detailed
motion of the planets, in some cases, epicycles
were themselves placed on epicycles.
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The Ptolemaic Universe : Ideas about uniform
circular motion and epicycles were cataloged by
Ptolemy in 150 A.D. in his book the Almagest.
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 During the Middle
Ages, philosophertheologian Thomas
Aquinas (1222-1274)
rediscovered Aristotle
and blended his ideas
with medieval
theology.
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Aristotle’s
Prime Mover
became the
God of
Christian
theology.
The outermost
sphere
became the
Christian
heaven.
Earth at center
represented the
Christian God’s
concern for
mankind.
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Medieval Representation of Ptolemaic Universe
REASSURANCE
Divine power
would triumph
over corruption
and decay of
earthly things
and lift the soul
to an afterlife in
heaven.
COMFORT
Individual could
locate God. Soul’s
destination would
be above or below.
STABILITY
Earth was
at center.
Mankind
important in
God’s plan.
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 Religious Dogma: Ideas
originating with pagan
Greek philosophers
were incorporated into
the Catholic church and
became dogma. To
challenge this view of
the universe was to
challenge, not only
science, but theology.
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Did Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus
(1473-1543) get into trouble when he
proposed a sun-centered solar system?
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 No, Copernicus was
not investigated by
the Church because
he published his
heliocentric (suncentered) theory of
the universe, On the
Revolutions of the
Heavenly Bodies, on
his deathbed.
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Copernicus’ Universe
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Representation of Copernicus’ Solar System
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The Heliocentric System offers a simple explanation
for varying brightness and retrograde motion
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View Comparison between Ptolemaic and Copernican Systems
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Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) proved the Copernican theory
with his telescope, challenged Aristotle's universe and its
theological-philosophical worldview, and laid the foundations
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for dynamics (the study of motion) and gravity.
Sunspots
Galileo observed sunspots that moved, indicating
that the Sun was rotating on an axis and that it was
not made from a perfect, unchanging substance.
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He used his telescope to show that Venus went
through a complete set of phases, just like the Moon.
This observation confirmed the Copernican system
and proved that the Ptolemaic system was incorrect.
What Galileo
would have
seen if Earth
in center:
What Galileo
actually saw
(proving Sun
in center):
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 Galileo’s Relationship with
the Church: Pope Urban
VIII admired Galileo's
intelligence, supported him
in his scientific work, and
gave him permission to
write about the Copernican
theory as long as he
treated it as a hypothesis.
 When Urban confessed that
the Church would never
accept the theory, Galileo
satirized the Pope in a
Dialogue Concerning the
Two Chief World Systems.
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 In that dialog, Galileo
associated Urban VIII
with Simplicio, the
staunch Aristotelian
whose arguments had
been refuted in the
previous pages of the
work.
 Convinced that Galileo
had made a fool of him,
Urban directed the
Inquisition to move
against him.
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 Galileo was accused of
challenging the
Church’s authority and
found guilty of two
charges:
He defied the order
to treat the
Copernican theory
as an hypothesis.
And, in so doing, he
was suspected of
heresy.
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 Under threat of
torture and death, he
was forced to recant
his Copernican views
and sentenced to
house arrest, where
he remained until his
death in 1642.
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Centuries later . . .
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 In 1979, nearly 350
years after
Galileo’s sentence,
Pope John Paul II
asked the Pontifical
Academy of
Science to conduct
an in depth study of
the controversial
“Galileo Case.”
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 By 1984, the panel’s
findings were published
in a series of essays
entitled Galileo Galilei:
350 Years of History. The
authors acknowledged
that the judges who
condemned Galileo had
committed an error and
that the Church was
wrong in silencing him.
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Pope John Paul II spoke to the assembly
about “the distinct but complementary roles
that faith and science fulfill in human life.”
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He acknowledged “the emergence of complexity in
mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.”
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 And asked a question
important to scientists,
philosophers, and
theologians: “How are
we to reconcile the
explanation of the world
that begins with the level
of elementary entities
and phenomena with the
[understanding] that ‘the
whole is greater than the
sum of its parts?’”
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He concluded that “Contemporary culture demands a
constant effort to synthesize knowledge and to integrate
learning.... A true culture cannot be conceived of
without humanism and wisdom.”
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Our Knowledge of the
Universe Is in Its Infancy:
A light-year is the distance light
travels in one year. It is 9.5 trillion
(9,500,000,000,000) kilometers. The
size of a galaxy may be as little as a
thousand light-years across or as
much as a million light-years across.
A galaxy contains stars, gas, and
dust which are held together as a
group by gravity. There may be
millions, or even billions, of stars in
one galaxy. There are billions of
galaxies in the Universe.
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Let the scientists,
philosophers, and
theologians explore the
Universe in a spirit of truth,
wisdom, and cooperation –
freely, intelligently, and
peacefully.
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Online Resources:
 DeMarco, Donald. "The Dispute Between Galileo and the Catholic
Church." Catholic Education Resource Center. May-June 1986.
Catholic Education Resource Center. 19 July 2008
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/science/sc0043.html.
 "Faith Can Never Conflict with Reason." L'Osservatore Romano. 4
Nov. 1992. 19 July 2008 http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/scicp/sci-9211.html.
 Golden, Frederick. "Rehabilitating Galileo's Image." Dr. S. D. Marcum
Course Website. 12 Mar. 1984. Time Magazine. 19 July 2008
http://www.cas.muohio.edu/~marcumsd/p111/lectures/grehab.htm.
 Johnston, George Sim. “The Galileo Affair” 6 July 2008
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0005.html.
 Rowland, Wade. "Essay on Galileo Galilei." Wade Rowland. 2003.
Wade Rowland Enterprises Inc. 19 July 2008
http://www.waderowland.com/articles/galileo-essay.html.
 Schirrmacher, Thomas. “The Galileo Affair: History or Heroic
Hagiography.” Technical Journal. April 2000: 91‐100.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v14/i1/galileo.asp?vprint=1.
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