In LOVE with Humanity

Hero #057: Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei -- a 15th & 16th century astronomer, physicist, philosopher, and
mathematician -- proved to be a central figure in humanity‘s transition from natural
philosophy to modern science. His courageous championing of heliocentrism and
Copernicanism was controversial during his lifetime – to say the least, meeting with strong
opposition from both religious leaders and fellow astronomers. The matter was investigated
by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that heliocentrism was ―foolish and
absurd in philosophy, and formally heretical -- since it explicitly contradicts in many places
the sense of Holy Scripture.‖ And yet Galileo remain undeterred, and later defended his
views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, a work which appeared to
attack Pope Urban VIII. As a consequence, he was tried by the Inquisition, found
―vehemently suspect of heresy‖, and forced to spend the rest of his life under house arrest …
According to historians, after being forced to recant his theory that the Earth moved around
the Sun, Galileo audibly uttered the rebellious phrase, ―And yet it moves.‖
―I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use … You cannot teach a man
anything, you can only help him find it within himself.‖ ~ Galileo
67