Ptolemy's Almagest: The Geocentric View Of Science

During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, many scientists had developed a new perspective on the world around them. Scientists such as Galileo and Copernicus envisioned a world where natural phenomenons could be proved through experimentation. Furthermore, the work of scientists during this time period were affected by the approval of political figures, the support from influential members of the church, and social factors that influenced the development and acceptance of new theories. To powerful political figures, scientific theories were regarded as an opportunity to gain power and money.

Following the advancements in the sciences, Astronomers such as Copernicus discussed new ideas that went against the holy scripture, which

Answer – Phyllis Tickle borrows an amazing analogy from an Anglican bishop named Mark Dryer to describe an occurrence that happens around every 500 years in the church; in which, the changes of the culture forces the church evaluate beliefs and doctrines (Tickle 152). Specifically, Tickle says, “It is the business of any rummage sale first to remove all of the old treasures that belonged to one’s parents so as to get on with the business of keeping house the new way” (Tickle 535-536). Her point can be seen in the example of the church teaching the earth was flat and the center of the universe, only to find out through Copernicus’ theory; and the later the sailing of Columbus, that the earth is round and not the center of the universe (Tickle

With most of his personal life shrouded in mystery, Claudius Ptolemy’s life stories and travels are shrouded in mystery, with only a few key details to work off of. On the other hand, there are plentiful amounts of data about his achievements, books, and countless other legacies. Ptolemy was mostly acknowledged for The Algamest, a book that contained countless maps and observations about astronomy, and the solar system. Even though a bit of the book was flawed, considering he thought that our solar system was geocentric, there were many ideas about planetary motion that other astronomers found breathtaking. His other works were also meticulously detailed, and some of which will be discussed in further detail in the next few paragraphs.

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer who disagreed with the Roman Catholic theory of geocentrism. He was not a heretic because he was a Christian and had similar beliefs to the Roman Catholics, but he did not agree with the Church’s theory of the position and movement of Earth in the Solar System. Document A is an excerpt of a letter to Duchess Christina of Tuscany written by Galilei, counter-arguing the heresy claims. In the letter, Galileo wrote, “Can an opinion be heretical and yet have no concern with the salvation of souls?” Although he did not believe in the astronomical theory of the Church, he believed that his scientific thoughts should not interfere with his religious beliefs.

During the Middle Ages a Roman Astronomer named Ptolemy came up with the theory that all surrounding planets orbited around the Earth. Advancement in telescopes and technology helped Copernicus during the renaissance create a more logical and accurate theory which stated how the sun is in the middle of our universe and all planets orbited the sun. This changed the way man thought because it realized how small Earth is compared to the rest of the solar system and how we may not be

Before the Renaissance people viewed the world as God (and the Church) willed. In Document C, the drawing by Ptolemy is similar to Copernicus. In Ptolemy’s drawing he writes that the outer sphere is where Heaven, God, and the Elect are. The influence of the Church was very strong in 100 CE, so religion was incorporated in most places. In fact this man was probably employed by the Church to pursue his studies.

Many people fought over the point that the Sun is the center and this caused a conflict between the Church, Copernicus and Galileo. “The picture that Copernicus made showed the solar system, and showed the way the solar system actually looked.” (Document 1) The diagram made the church get angry because the church didn’t want to be wrong and decided to punish Copernicus and Galileo, who also agreed with Copernicus. The church was a powerful authority and if proven wrong people would start to not believe the Pope’s words and would go against the church.

Scientific research seems very factual and straight-forward. In reality, science deals with uncertainty, something that, when not used in the right way, creates weaknesses. The uncertainty of scientific research allows scientists to explore intellectually as well as creatively, and “venture into the unknown” to create the known. In his account from The Great Influenza, John M. Barry uses formal diction, strategically placed rhetorical questions, and an appeal to logos to characterize scientific research.

The open-minded Galileo advocated that the earth revolves around the sun, with which few agreed during his lifetime,

Nicolaus Copernicus was an extremely famous and important scientist, astronomer, mathematician, religious figure, and scholar during the 1500’s. He helped shape many of the theories and ideas about the universe that are prevalent in society today. His accomplishments were and still are considered infamous, and although not commonly accepted by people during his lifetime, his development of the heliocentric model of the universe is what we all currently believe to be true. Without his hard work and perseverance on his research, our views of our universe would be very different, and possibly quite incorrect, today. Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19th, 1473 in Torun, West Prussia.

Copernicus developed the heliocentric theory which claimed that the earth revolved around the sun. This immediately challenged the authorities who believed the opposite. Galileo furthered Copernicus’ argument and promoted that the Bible, that God

Today virtually every child grows up learning that the Earth orbits the Sun, but four centuries ago the heliocentric solar system, where the Earth orbits the Sun, was so controversial that the Catholic Church classified it as a crime of heresy (UCLA). In the age of early philosophy, Socrates’ is well known. Between the Socratic method and his line of successful students, Socrates’ makes the history books. Galileo Galilei turned astronomers on their heads when he discovered moons around Jupiter. Giordano Bruno didn’t back down from any of his brilliant and different ideas.

Analysis of Galileo’s Letter to Grand-Duchess Christina During the time that Galileo wrote the letter to Grand-Duchess Christina, there was much debate about the orientation of the universe. There were two different theories of thought at this time. One was the Heliocentric Universe, which believed the sun was the center of the universe and the Earth orbits it.

Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek Geographer and Astronomer, came up with this theory. Everyone later on came to believe the geocentric theory. Controversy augmented when Nicolaus evolved the heliocentric theory, which was later included in Book I of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium. A lot of people told Nicolaus that his findings were incorrect and irrelevant because they strongly believed in Claudius 's previous statement. Book I also sketches of the solar system that helps defend the heliocentric theory.