Maurice A. Finocchiaro 
Retrying Galileo, 1633–1992 

In 1633, at the end of one of the most famous trials in history, the Inquisition condemned Galileo for contending that the Earth moves and that the Bible is not a scientific authority. Galileo’s condemnation set off a controversy that has acquired a fascinating life of its own and that continues to this day. This absorbing book is the first to examine the entire span of the Galileo affair from his condemnation to his alleged rehabilitation by the Pope in 1992. Filled with primary sources, many translated into English for the first time,
Retrying Galileo will acquaint readers with the historical facts of the trial, its aftermath and repercussions, the rich variety of reflections on it throughout history, and the main issues it raises.

Innehållsförteckning

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction. The Galileo Affair from Descartes to John Paul II: A Survey of Sources, Facts, and Issues


1. The Condemnation of Galileo (1633)

2. Promulgation and Diffusion of the News (1633-1651)

3. Emblematic Reactions: Descartes, Peiresc, Galileo’s Daughter (1633-1642)

4. Polarizations: Secularism, Liberalism, Fundamentalism (1633-1661)

5. Compromises: Viviani, Auzout, Leibniz (1654-1704)

6. Myth-making or Enlightenment? Pascal, Voltaire, the
Encyclopedia (1657-1777)

7. Incompetence or Enlightenment? Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758)

8. New Lies, Documents, Myths, Apologies (1758-1797)

9. Napoleonic Wars and Trials (1810-1821)

10. The Inquisition on Galileo’s Side? The Settele Affair (1820) and Beyond (1835)

11. Varieties of Torture: Demythologizing Galileo’s Trial? (1835-1867)

12. A Miscarriage of Justice? The Documentation of Impropriety (1867-1879)

13. Galileo Right Again, Wrong Again: Hermeneutics, Epistemology, ’Heresy’ (1866-1928)

14. A Catholic Hero: Tricentennial Rehabilitation (1941-1947)

15. Secular Indictments: Brecht’s Atomic Bomb and Koestler’s Two Cultures (1947-1959)

16. History on Trial: The Paschini Affair (1941-1979)

17. More ’Rehabilitation’: Pope John Paul II (1979-1992)


Epilogue: Unfinished Business

Notes

Select Bibliography

Index

Om författaren

Maurice A. Finocchiaro, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, is author of Beyond Right and Left: Democratic Elitism in Mosca and Gramsci (1999) and Galileo on the World Systems: A New Abridged Translation and Guide (1997), among other books.