Galileo: And the Science Deniers by Mario Livio (PDF)

Description

An “intriguing and accessible” (Publishers Weekly) interpretation of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history’s greatest and most fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and how he was challenged by science deniers. “We really need this story now, because we’re living through the next chapter of science denial” (Bill McKibben).Galileo’s story may be more relevant today than ever before. At present, we face enormous crises—such as minimizing the dangers of climate change—because the science behind these threats is erroneously questioned or ignored. Galileo encountered this problem 400 years ago. His discoveries, based on careful observations and ingenious experiments, contradicted conventional wisdom and the teachings of the church at the time. Consequently, in a blatant assault on freedom of thought, his books were forbidden by church authorities. Astrophysicist and bestselling author Mario Livio draws on his own scientific expertise and uses his “gifts as a great storyteller” (The Washington Post) to provide a “refreshing perspective” (Booklist) into how Galileo reached his bold new conclusions about the cosmos and the laws of nature. A freethinker who followed the evidence wherever it led him, Galileo was one of the most significant figures behind the scientific revolution. He believed that every educated person should know science as well as literature, and insisted on reaching the widest audience possible, publishing his books in Italian rather than Latin. Galileo was put on trial with his life in the balance for refusing to renounce his scientific convictions. He remains a hero and inspiration to scientists and all of those who respect science—which, as Livio reminds us in this “admirably clear and concise” (The Times, London) book, remains threatened everyday.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Mario Livio reminds us that one of the major goals of physics today is to formulate a theory that would unify all the fundamental forces of nature – gravity, electromagnetism, the strong and weak nuclear reactions. He tells us that it was Galileo ‘who took the first, insightful step toward such a unification’.This is not just another biography, but an illuminating one that explains how and why Galileo found himself before the Inquisition. It was not so much his defence of the Copernican view that the earth revolves around the sun, contrary to the ancient but mistaken view of Aristotle, but the fact that his explanation trespassed into the realm of the Church.Only the Church has the right to interpret what the Bible says. The passages in Joshua 10 and Psalm 19 in which it was stated that the sun stood still, are matters of theology, not science. Livio shows the insidious antagonism the clerics have against Galileo and how they manoeuvre him, ultimately, to face the Inquisition.This is an outstanding biography because Livio, himself an astrophysicist, could not help but explain the science to us, but how clearly and vividly he does so. It is what presents the context of Galileo’s achievements. The collateral story of Galileo’s eventual humiliation in Rome is told by Livio in arresting fashion. We see how a brilliant but naïve scientist got trapped by his scriptural enemies who rejects Galileo’s theories even though he explains with clarity how the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic world system has been dismantled by the Copernican one.From what we see even today, in 2021, science still has its deniers. They will not read this book. But anyone who has an open mind will surely find light, if not through Galileo’s arguments, then certainly through his life; one dedicated to the cause of science. The words ‘Science Deniers’ in Livio’s book are significant today because this biography shows how the Catholic Church denied not only the discoveries of Copernicus, but also of Galileo’s, in favour of the unscientific, unproven, theories of Aristotle and Ptolemy – the obstinate denial that the sun moves from east to west and that the earth stood still. The contradiction by Galileo caused him to be subjected to the humiliation of the Inquisition and ultimate house imprisonment and the banning of his book, the Dialogo. It was the Church that insisted that science was wrong. It was only in 1992 that Galileo was exonerated. And even then, rather than accepting that the Bible is wrong and science is right, the Church created a moat around itself; a bubble in which scientific truth belongs to science and ‘truth of faith’ belongs to religion.

⭐Nice review of Galileo’s history.I was hoping for a bit more discussion and examples of relevance to our challenges today ignoring the scientific observations most of us would like to ignore.None the less, a good history lesson of the life of Galileo.

⭐I am a graduate of Bellarmine College (University), Louisville. Cardinale Robert Bellarmine, of 15th-16th century namesake –is patron saint of this institution which was founded and is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Louisville. The Archbishop remains Chancellor. In the most recent history of Bellarmine, Louisville, entitled IN VERITATIS AMORE, the university’s historian, Rev. Clyde Crews writes about Galileo as one of many 15-16th century controversies for Cardinal Bellarmine. Yet, it was/is disappointing that the Archdiocese of Louisville is not yet acknowledging the modern commentary about Galileo, for example from Pope John Paul-II-that Galileo should never have been condemned. In Florida, at the Space Center, Galileo name continues to be immortalized in the Space program by SPACEX and NASA and more…..Mario Livio’s interpretations of Galileo is must reading…

⭐Mario Livio has a talent for finding interesting stories to tell in his science writing and this book is another timely story to tell. Galileo made such a huge contribution to science while living in a time where many of the powerful denied science. Here he navigates us through Galileo’s life and science, while at the same time drawing connections to our current climate of science denial. The details of the trial and subsequent house arrest are interesting and show a particularly shameful abuse of power. I also found interesting that Galileo himself was a bridge between what Snow would call the Two Cultures. I would say that Mario Livio does this in his books as well often bridging the science and the arts.

⭐Galileo’s story holds lessons for every age in that it is a story of scientific discovery, human resistance to change and one man’s stubborn courage and persistence. This telling is a good one that focuses on the political intrigue in the Catholic Church that drove the opposition to Galileo’s discoveries. The science and the politics are presented in a readable, entertaining and informative way.

⭐Very good book but it is a slow read due to the detail of the author

⭐I like the fact it has a lot of useful information. I do not like that Livio tried to force the actual denial situation about climate change with a history that not necessary was like that.

⭐The author describes the censorship and poor treatment of Galileo for his Copernican view of the solar system, comparing it to contemporary problems of a similar nature involving science deniers of evolution, climate change, and the like. It’s an interesting biographical summary of one of the great minds in the history of Western science.

⭐I loved it.I was a bit disappointed with the discussion of today’s problems – I learned nothing, and it was too brief. But the stuff on Galileo was brilliant. Never enjoyed a bit of science history so much.

⭐Already interested in the subject this book opened other possibilities regarding science

⭐Galileo was an outstanding scientist who based his scientific conclusions on experimental finding as opposed to the religious dogma of the day. He contributed an enormous amount of knowledge to the world.The book exposes how badly Galileo was treated by the religious leaders in the Catholic Church. The author also provides much evidence that such behaviour continues to the day. As I often have said- there is nothing sacred about religion!I found this to be a well written book that politicians of all types would be wise to read and heed. The scientific method has changed our world enormously and in almost all cases it has improved the world. We ignore science at our peril! Especially today!

⭐This book mainly covers Galileo’s scientific work. But the principal focus is his conflict with the Catholic Church over his discoveries in astronomy – discoveries which were seen by the Catholic Church as being in conflict with Scripture. Otherwise, there is very little here about other aspects of Galileo’s life.I found that the author did an excellent job in presenting both Galileo’s arguments as well as the Church’s. Although often quoting them from the original (but translated) texts, he immediately explains them in plain language to allow for a wider accessibility. Galileo’s resulting trial and its consequences are clearly described. But the author does not stop there. He also describes the aftermath and residuals of this conflict right up to modern times, highlighting the Church’s modern views on scientific research and discoveries on the one hand, and the Scriptures and their interpretation on the other. He also briefly discusses parallels between the Church’s attitude toward Galileo’s original discoveries to the viewpoints of modern day Creationists and climate change deniers.I believe that this book should be of particular interest to Galileo enthusiasts, as well as anyone interested in matters related to science and religion, particularly scientific discoveries in light of the Scriptures.

⭐O livro é ótimo. Muito elucidativo.

⭐

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