Who were Galileo's contemporaries?
29688374#15
If this theory were correct, there would be only one high tide per day. Galileo and his contemporaries were aware of this inadequacy because there are two daily high tides at Venice instead of one, about twelve hours apart. Galileo dismissed this anomaly as the result of several secondary causes including the shape of the sea, its depth, and other factors. Against the assertion that Galileo was deceptive in making these arguments, Albert Einstein expressed the opinion that Galileo developed his "fascinating arguments" and accepted them uncritically out of a desire for physical proof of the motion of the Earth. Galileo dismissed the idea, held by his contemporary Johannes Kepler, that the moon caused the tides. (Galileo also took no interest in Kepler's elliptical orbits of the planets.)
Galileo Galilei
3362809#4
Jesuit astronomers, experts both in Church teachings, science, and in natural philosophy, were at first skeptical and hostile to the new ideas; however, within a year or two the availability of good telescopes enabled them to repeat the observations. In 1611, Galileo visited the Collegium Romanum in Rome, where the Jesuit astronomers by that time had repeated his observations. Christoph Grienberger, one of the Jesuit scholars on the faculty, sympathized with Galileo's theories, but was asked to defend the Aristotelian viewpoint by Claudio Acquaviva, the Father General of the Jesuits. Not all of Galileo's claims were completely accepted: Christopher Clavius, the most distinguished astronomer of his age, never was reconciled to the idea of mountains on the Moon, and outside the collegium many still disputed the reality of the observations. In a letter to Kepler of August 1610, Galileo complained that some of the philosophers who opposed his discoveries had refused even to look through a telescope:
Galileo affair
1589136#100
Whilst the political and social conditions in Italy in the 17th century made it appear that every light of intelligence was extinguished, some strong and independent thinkers, such as Bernardino Telesio, Lucilio Vanini, Bruno and Campanella turned philosophical inquiry into fresh channels, and opened the way for the scientific conquests of Galileo Galilei, the great contemporary of René Descartes in France and of Francis Bacon in England. Galileo was not only a great man of science, but also occupied a conspicuous place in the history of letters. A devoted student of Ariosto, he seemed to transfuse into his prose the qualities of that great poet: clear and frank freedom of expression, precision and ease, and at the same time elegance. Galileo's prose is in perfect antithesis to the poetry of his time and is regarded by some as the best prose that Italy has ever had.
Italian literature
268475#25
Many contemporary scientists, such as Gassendi, dispute Galileo’s methodology for conceptualizing his law of falling bodies. Two of the main arguments are that his epistemology followed the example of Platonist thought or hypothetico-deductivist. It has now been considered to be "ex suppositione", or knowing the how and why effects from past events in order to determine the requirements for the production of similar effects in the future. Galileo methodology mirrored that of Aristotelian and Archimedean epistemology. Following a letter from Cardinal Bellarmine in 1615 Galileo distinguished his arguments and Copernicus' as natural suppositions as opposed to the “fictive” that are “introduced only for the sake of astronomical computations,” such as Plato's hypothesis on eccentrics and equants.
Two New Sciences
58607315#1
The son of Francesco Arrighetti and Fiammetta Ginori, as a young man he was a private student of Galileo’s, together with his cousin Andrea Arrighetti. Around 1614, Arrighetti assisted Galileo in replying to an attack by Giorgio Coresio on his views of the behaviour of bodies in water. Arrighetti maintained a close interest in Galileo’s experiments in physics and his mathematical work (notably on the flow of water in both straight and twisting channels). It was also Arrighetti who brought Galileo news from Benedetto Castelli about the dispute between Castelli and Cosimo Boscaglia, that prompted Galileo to write his "Letter to Benedetto Castelli". A number of Galileo’s notes, sketches and drawings on various topics, including motion, were recorded or copied by Arrighetti.
Niccolò Arrighetti
15965580#2
Fabri was a highly respected scientist among his contemporaries. He was elected to the Accademia del Cimento in 1657, the year the Academy was founded.Leibniz placed him with Galileo, Torricelli, Steno and Borelli for his work on elasticity and the theory of vibrations, and alone with Galileo for his efforts to 'rationalise experimental kinematics'. Mersenne rated him 'a veritable giant in science'
Honoré Fabri
29688374#4
Three of Galileo's five siblings survived infancy. The youngest, Michelangelo (or Michelagnolo), also became a noted lutenist and composer although he contributed to financial burdens during Galileo's young adulthood. Michelangelo was unable to contribute his fair share of their father's promised dowries to their brothers-in-law, who would later attempt to seek legal remedies for payments due. Michelangelo would also occasionally have to borrow funds from Galileo to support his musical endeavours and excursions. These financial burdens may have contributed to Galileo's early desire to develop inventions that would bring him additional income.
Galileo Galilei
54670152#2
There were a number of Florentines in Rome who were connected with Urban VIII or his nephew Cardinal Francesco Barberini - Rinuccini's brother Giovanni Battista became lieutenant to Cardinal Barberini. Galileo was in frequent correspondence with a number of them, including Mario Guiducci, Francesco Stelluti and Benedetto Castelli, as well as both Rinuccini brothers. The new Pope was friendly towards Galileo and many of his ideas, and his election seemed an excellent opportunity to take a more assertive line on astronomy than had been possible since the Roman Inquisition had proscribed heliocentrism in 1616. It was important for Galileo to carefully judge the political mood in Rome before publishing anything controversial and Tommaso Rinuccini was an important informant on whom he relied.
Tommaso Rinuccini
15587087#85
In this most famous example cited by critics of the Catholic Church's "posture towards science", Galileo Galilei was denounced in 1633 for his work on the heliocentric model of the solar system, previously proposed by the Polish clergyman and intellectual Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus's work had been suppressed de facto by the Church, but Catholic authorities were generally tolerant of discussion of the hypothesis as long as it was portrayed only as a useful mathematical fiction, and not descriptive of reality. Galileo, by contrast, argued from his unprecedented observations of the solar system that the heliocentric system was not merely an abstract model for calculating planetary motions, but actually corresponded to physical reality – that is, he insisted the planets really do orbit the Sun. After years of telescopic observation, consultations with the Popes, and verbal and written discussions with astronomers and clerics, a trial was convened by the Tribunal of the Roman and Universal Inquisition. Galileo was found "vehemently suspect of heresy" (not "guilty of heresy," as is frequently misreported), placed under house arrest, and all of his works, including any future writings, were banned. Galileo had been threatened with torture and other Catholic scientists fell silent on the issue. Galileo's great contemporary René Descartes stopped publishing in France and went to Sweden. According to Polish-British historian of science Jacob Bronowski:
Role of Christianity in civilization
40530561#1
Galileo Rock is a chestnut horse with a broad white blaze and three white socks bred in Ireland by Rockfield Farm. He was sired by Galileo the winner of the 2001 Derby who went on to become an outstanding breeding stallion, winning the title of champion sire on four occasions. Galileo's other progeny include Rip Van Winkle, Nathaniel, Cape Blanco, New Approach and Frankel. His dam Grecian Bride came from a family established at the Ballymacoll Stud: her grandmother Edinburgh is also the direct female-line ancestor of Golan and North Light. Grecian Bride has also produced Saddler's Rock, a leading stayer who won both the Doncaster Cup in 2011 Goodwood Cup in 2012.
Galileo Rock