Chapter 3 Flashcards
(8 cards)
In Aristotle’s model of the solar system, what is everything in the terrestrial realm made of? What is everything in the celestial realm made of?
Everything in the terrestrial realm is made of four elements or some combination of them: water, earth, fire, air. From the moon onwards int he celestial realm, everything is made of aether.
Why was Copernicus’ theory of heliocentricity largely ignored until Galileo came along?
Because people didn’t believe it to be literally true. Instead, they viewed it as a helpful mathematical tool.
How do people today often view the Galileo affair? Who is the enemy of the story? How accurate is this portrayal?
People often see Galileo as an anti-authoritarian martyr for science, with the Church as his enemy opposed to scientific progress. It’s true that Galileo pushed back against authority, but against the authority of the Aristotelian scientists, not the Church.
At the end of Galileo’s life, what did he call “one of his greatest consolations”?
his zeal for the Church
What negative consequence of Scholasticism did Dr. Stokes discuss in this lecture?
Because Scholasticism combined Aristotelianism and Christianity, disagreeing with Aristotle was often seen as disagreeing with the Church.
Who did Galileo name his moons after? Why?
He named them after his patron, Grand Duke Cosmo II de’ Medici, as a gift t him, which was a shrewd move on Galileo’s part. However, he stated that it was because Jupiter inspires the same positive qualities that Cosmo possessed.
What did Galileo discover about the surface of the moon?
Galileo discovered that the surface of the moon wasn’t perfectly smooth: it had mountains, valleys, and craters.
Why do you think the discovery of Jupiter’s moons would have been surprising to the people of Galileo’s time?
In Galileo’s time, people believed that the universe was geo-centric: everything in the skies revolved around the earth. They didn’t expect to find that some stars revolved around Jupiter instead.
