Devin's+Week+3

In Galileo’s letter to the Grand Duchess, he comes across as incredibly progressive. He is credited with several advancements in the field of science, but based on this letter he appears to be the only one that realizes how great his achievements are. He discusses how his findings were received in both the scientific and religious communities. As to be expected for that time, the religious community shunned Galileo and his discoveries, but most of his shock come from the fact that even some men in the field of astronomy rejected his results as fact. But instead of coming across as angry or disappointed in his colleagues, Galileo is rather humble. He openly accredits his findings to the work of other astronomers before him, namely Copernicus. Galileo tries to paint himself as sort a middleman or a messenger for the work Copernicus did. Part of Galileo’s point is that of those who accept his findings, many of them aren’t ignorant to the fact that Copernicus was the original mind behind his [Galileo’s] discoveries. He, instead, insists that those who support his findings as facts are turning a blind eye to Copernicus and ignoring the fact that he himself was a thriving member of the church. “They pretend not to know that its author, or rather its restorer and confirmer, was Nicholas Copernicus; and that he was not only a Catholic, but a priest and a canon.” This is what makes Galileo so progressive, not only is he ahead of his time scientifically, he is not afraid to call out his supporters for their lack of proper accreditation.Devin's Week 3