Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)
Author of Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican
About the Author
Galileo Galilei, the great astronomer and physicist whose researches played so crucial a role in the history of science, also occupies an important place in the history of philosophy for his part in overthrowing the predominant Aristotelian concept of the nature of the universe. Galileo considered show more himself a philosopher and referred to himself as such on the title pages of his most influential works. Much recent research has been devoted to examining both the philosophical background of Galileo's scientific achievements and the philosophical implications of his scientific method. Born in Pisa, the eldest son of a famous music theorist, Galileo entered on the study of medicine at the University of Pisa but quickly shifted his interest to mathematics. From 1589 to 1592, he taught mathematics at Pisa while studying independently with Jacopo Mazzoni, a distinguished professor of philosophy. His earliest scientific works, directed against Aristotle's account of freely falling bodies, date from this period. In 1592 he moved to Padua, where he lectured on mathematics and astronomy, and by 1597 he was defending the Copernican helicocentric theory of the universe in a letter to his friend Mazzoni. When in 1609, he learned of the invention of the telescope in Holland, Galileo quickly designed an improved version of the instrument for his own astronomical observations. His startling discoveries---including the satellites of Jupiter---were revealed in 1610 in his Starry Messenger (Sidereus nuncius), which led to his appointment as mathematician and philosopher to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. On a visit to Rome in 1611, he demonstrated the power of his instrument and defended the Copernican worldview in learned circles. Church authorities were divided on the question of whether the Copernican theory was consistent with scriptural accounts of the cosmos, and Galileo's position was attacked on theological grounds. He defended himself eloquently in his famous Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615), arguing for the independence of scientific inquiry from theological constraints. Nevertheless, in the following year, he was forbidden to hold or teach the Copernican view. Retiring to Florence to pursue his scientific researches, Galileo let the Copernican question lie until a new pope, Urban VIII, seemed to offer a more favorable reception to his views. In 1632 he brought out his great Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, a presentation of the Ptolemaic-Aristotelian and Copernican systems heavily weighted in favor of the scientific superiority of the latter. In spite of the support of his Florentine and Roman friends, Galileo was tried and forced to recant his defense of helicocentrism under the threat of torture; the Dialogue was placed on the Index of Prohibited Books and its author sentenced to house arrest for life. Galileo's last years were spent in scientific investigations that culminated in the publication of his Discourses on Two New Sciences (1638). Galileo's legacy as a philosopher lies in his outspoken defense of the autonomy of scientific investigation from philosophical and theological authority, and his conviction that mathematical proofs can and should be sought in physical science, that celestial and terrestrial phenomena can be accounted for by a single set of scientific laws, and that scientific explanations cannot be divorced from direct empirical observation of phenomena. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Justus Sustermans
Series
Works by Galileo Galilei
Discorsi : unterredungen und mathematische Beweisführungen zu zwei neuen Wissensgebieten (2013) 8 copies
Galileo's Early Notebooks. The Physical Questions. A Translation from the Latin, with Historical and… (1977) 6 copies
Il compasso geometrico e militare di Galileo Galilei : testi, annotazioni, e disputa negli scritti di G. Galilei, M.… (1992) 4 copies
Le opere di Galileo Galilei volume 4 4 copies
Scritti letterari 3 copies
Galileo Interactive DVD 3 copies
Galilei (volume primo) 3 copies
Frammenti e lettere 3 copies
Prose scelte 3 copies
The Sidereal Messenger Of Galileo Galilei: And A Part Of The Preface To Kepler's Dioptrics (1880) (2010) 2 copies
Mathematical discourses concerning two new sciences relating to mechanicks and local motion, in four dialogues. By… (2010) 2 copies
Dos lecciones infernales : dos lecciones ante la Academia Florentina acerca de la forma, la ubicación y el… (2012) 2 copies
Galileo Galilei on Motion and Mechanics: Comprising De Motu (ca. 1590) and Le Meccaniche (ca. 1600) (1960) 2 copies
Galileu & Newton 2 copies
Galileo Galilei: Opere 2 copies
Opere volume I 2 copies
Against the donning of the gown 2 copies
La prosa 2 copies
Galilei (volume secondo) 2 copies
Galileo e gli scienziati del Seicento — Author — 2 copies
Arutlusi ja matemaatilisi tõestuskäike kahe uue teadusharu vallast, mehaanika ning maapealsete liikumiste… (2024) 2 copies
Ground Power #108 1 copy
Ground Power #105 1 copy
Ground Power #104 1 copy
Lettera a Cristina di Lorena sui rapporti tra l'autorita della scrittura e la liberta della scienza 1 copy
Rime 1 copy
Opere 1 1 copy
Discourse on the Tides 1 copy
Duas Novas Ciências 1 copy
Opere 2 1 copy
Vita ed opere: per saggi criticamente disposti delle sue lettere e delle sue prose scientifiche 1 copy
Galileu 1 copy
Problema della verità, Il 1 copy
Ground Power #109 1 copy
Ground Power #129 1 copy
Die 90er Jahre 1 copy
The Sidereal Messenger Of Galileo Galilei: And A Part Of The Preface To Kepler's Dioptrics (1880) (2010) 1 copy
SIDEREUS NUNCUS 1 copy
Die 50er Jahre 1 copy
Die 60er Jahre 1 copy
Die 70er Jahre 1 copy
Die 80er Jahre 1 copy
Galilei [Opere di] 1 copy
Il saggiatore nel quale conbilancia esquisita e giusta si ponderano le cose contenute nella libra astronomica e… (2019) 1 copy
El ensayador 1 copy
Ground Power #133 1 copy
Ground Power #158 1 copy
Ground Power #139 1 copy
Ground Power #140 1 copy
Ground Power #141 1 copy
Ground Power #142 1 copy
Ground Power #153 1 copy
Ground Power #154 1 copy
Ground Power #155 1 copy
Ground Power #161 1 copy
Ground Power #170 1 copy
Ground Power #174 1 copy
Ground Power #178 1 copy
Ground Power #146 1 copy
Ground Power #147 1 copy
Great Books 28 1 copy
Dos lecciones infernales : dos lecciones ante la Academia Florentina acerca de la forma, la ubicación y el tamaño del… (2011) 1 copy
Pensieri, motti e sentenze 1 copy
Lettera a Cristina di Lorena 1 copy
Opere Discorso interno alle cose che stanno in su l' acqua-Lettere Copernicane-Il saggiatore-Lettere 1 copy
Opere vol. 34° 1 copy
Opere letterarie 1 copy
De motu 1 copy
Pensieri, Motti e Sentenze 1 copy
Dialogo di Galileo Galilei ... : doue ne i congressi di quattro giornate si discorre sopra i due massimi sistemi del… (1999) 1 copy
I Dialoghi Di Galileo Galilei Sui Massimi Sistemi Tolemaico E Copernicano: Volume Unico (Classic Reprint) (Italian… (2017) 1 copy
Opere vol. 2 1 copy
Rime 1 copy
Lettera a Cristina di Lorena 1 copy
Problema della verità, Il 1 copy
Sidereus Nuncius e lettere 1 copy
The Private Life Of Galileo: Compiled Principally From His Correspondence And That Of His Eldest Daughter, Maria… (2008) 1 copy
The Sidereal Messenger of Galileo Galilei and a Part of the Preface to Kepler's Dioptrics Containing the Original… (2016) 1 copy
Diálogos sobre dos nuevas ciencias. Jornada Segunda / Galileo Galilei ; [prólogo de José Calavera] (1981) 1 copy
Galileo's Letter about the Libration of the Moon: A Critical Study, Transcription, and Translation 1 copy
A Letter from Galileo Galilei: A Long-lost Letter from Galileo to Peiresc on a Magnetic Clock 1 copy
I dialoghi di Galileo Galilei sui massimi sistemi Tolemaico e Copernicano (Italian Edition) (1874) 1 copy
Due lezioni all'Accademia Fiorentina circa la figura, sito e grandezza dell'Inferno di Dante (Italian Edition) (2019) 1 copy
Noticiero sideral 1 copy
Associated Works
On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy (2002) — Contributor — 1,193 copies
Mechanics in sixteenth-century Italy;: Selections from Tartaglia, Benedetti, Guido Ubaldo, & Galileo (University of… (1969) — Contributor — 10 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Galilei, Galileo
- Legal name
- Galilei, Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de'
- Other names
- GALILEI, Galileo
- Birthdate
- 1564-02-15
- Date of death
- 1642-01-08
- Burial location
- Church of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Tuscany
- Country (for map)
- Italy
- Birthplace
- Pisa, Duchy of Florence
- Place of death
- Arcetri, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
- Places of residence
- Pisa, Italy (birth)
Padua, Italy
Florence, Tuscany, Italy - Education
- Pisa University
- Occupations
- professor(mathematics ∙ Padua University)
astronomer
mathematician
writer
author
philosopher - Relationships
- Celeste, Sister Maria (daughter)
- Organizations
- University of Pisa
University of Padua - Awards and honors
- Accademia dei Ricovrati
- Short biography
- How can one summarize Galileo? He asked questions no one could answer, and then invented ways to answer them himself. He was the great Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, and the father of modern science.
Members
Discussions
Galileo Galilei in Legacy Libraries (January 2014)
Reviews
Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo by Galileo Galilei
Incredibly well-edited selection of writings, invaluable for understanding the history of science, rhetoric, theology, and cosmology.
This volume, subtitled “From Doubt to Astonishment,” includes a facsimile copy of Galileo’s Sidereus nuncius from the Library of Congress’s Rare Books and Special Collections. Accompanying the discourse are the proceedings from the Library of Congress’s November 2010 symposium celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of Galileo’s treatise. Also included in this amazing volume is the Albert Van Helden translation of Galileo’s scientific text.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
A good quality book, but not a fine or limited edition. It was published to accompany an exhibition in Washington featuring the manuscript at the Library of Congress.
It contains a brief introduction about Galileo, followed by a facsimile of the Astronomicus Nuncius (Starry Messenger) which is printed on modern matt finish paper and runs to about 60 pages. Then there is a translation, and then several rather dry academic papers about the minutae of the manuscipt from the nature of the telescope he used and the paper on which the manuscript was written, to the refutations made by contemporaries of Galileo's findings.
I would happily pay US$40 for such a book, but in Australia it cost me US$155 including postage, which I felt was very excessive.
I have purchased much better books for less.… (more)
It contains a brief introduction about Galileo, followed by a facsimile of the Astronomicus Nuncius (Starry Messenger) which is printed on modern matt finish paper and runs to about 60 pages. Then there is a translation, and then several rather dry academic papers about the minutae of the manuscipt from the nature of the telescope he used and the paper on which the manuscript was written, to the refutations made by contemporaries of Galileo's findings.
I would happily pay US$40 for such a book, but in Australia it cost me US$155 including postage, which I felt was very excessive.
I have purchased much better books for less.… (more)
Believe it or not, I found this to be one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Easily understood, it is a seminal work in the history of science. Excellent.
Lists
Folio Society (1)
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 227
- Also by
- 9
- Members
- 3,377
- Popularity
- #7,546
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 25
- ISBNs
- 199
- Languages
- 16
- Favorited
- 10
