Routledge Guidebook to Galileo's Dialogue

<p> The publication in 1632 of Galileo’s <i>Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems Ptolemaic and Copernican</i> marked a crucial moment in the ‘scientific revolution’ and helped Galileo become the ‘father of modern science’. The <i>Dialogue</i> contains Galileo’s mature synthesis of astronomy physics and methodology and a critical confirmation of Copernicus’s hypothesis of the earth’s motion. However the book also led Galileo to stand trial with the Inquisition in what became known as ‘the greatest scandal in Christendom’.<br><br>In <i>The Routledge Guidebook to Galileo's Dialogue</i> Maurice A. Finocchiaro introduces and analyzes:</p><ul> <li>the intellectual background and historical context of the Copernican controversy and Inquisition trial;</li> <li>the key arguments and critiques that Galileo presents on both sides of the ‘dialogue’;</li> <li>the <i>Dialogue</i>’s content and significance from three special points of view: science methodology and rhetoric;</li> <li>the enduring legacy of the <i>Dialogue</i> and the ongoing application of its approach to other areas.</li> </ul><p>This is an essential introduction for all students of science philosophy history and religion wanting a useful guide to Galileo’s great classic.</p>