With the study of the heavens, in particular, Galileo asserts that he is attempting to learn more about what Bible refers to as the place of man's salvation, and what is assumed in the popular conception of the cosmos to be the place of God's residence at the far reaches of the spheres. Understanding, according to Galileo, is automatically holy, just as real truth is divine.
A Response Letter to the Same Duchess
To the Most Exalted Grand Duchess
I hope this finds you well and most unmoved on the point of Galileo Galilei's new conception of the motions of the heavenly bodies. Though his supposed observations, if indeed they have been confirmed by men of reputable science, do bear some further consideration and calculation, it is far too premature to cast out the model of the heavens that has accurately predicted the motions of the various celestial spheres for many thousands of years. Though the simplicity of the structure as it has traditionally been perceived was admittedly lacking in certain explanations, I have full confidence that careful considerations of the matter will result in a more satisfactory explanation.
It is entirely possible, for instance, that the point about which Venus' epicycle turns somehow distorts, reflects, and/or blocks the light emanating from the more distant Sun, causing the appearance of the phases that Galileo claims to have observed. A more complex system of layered epicycles quite neatly explains the existence of the stars noted orbiting Jupiter; doubtless these smaller luminaries revolve on their own spheres around Jupiter's...
This conclusion neatly explains the existence and movements of these stars without necessitating the celebrity-seeking conclusion that thousand's of years worth of thinkers and observers were wrong.
Conclusion
The difficulties in composing this imaginary letter, and especially in coming up with a reasonable alternative explanation for the observations Galileo made, reflect the reasons that Galileo -- and through him Copernicus -- were ultimately proved correct regarding the theory of a heliocentric universe. This reason had nothing to do with politics, religion, or ultimately even with mathematics and observation. Galileo's theory won out against the Aristotelians because it was right, and all of the objective scientific minds at the time knew it just as we know it now. The Scientific Revolution that Galileo helped to foment if not carry out was built on a quest for truth, and would have been pointless if it had ended b accepting older dogmas simply because they used to work, and did so for so long. Galileo's careful observation and calculation led him to the right answer; unlike others of his era, Galileo made discoveries instead of facts.
Works Cited
Drake, Stillman. Galileo at Work: His Scientific Biography. New York: Dover, 2003.
Galilei, Galileo. The Starry Messenger. 1610. Accessed 26 September 2009. http://www.bard.edu/admission/forms/pdfs/galileo.pdf
Galilei, Galileo. "Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany." 1615. Accessed 26 September 2009. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/galileo-tuscany.html
