Galileo: Heretic

by Pietro Redondi

"Mr. Redondi's story is brilliantly told. . . . The captivating style, the masterly reconstruction of plots and passions, the ability to vividly paint princes and popes, cardinals and philosophers, heretics and scientists, will no doubt guarantee the success of this book with students and the general public."--Pietro Corsi, The New York Times Book Review

Genres: History, Science, History Of Science, Biography, Religion

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Jesuits' religious greatness lay in their ability to adapt to changing religious needs...confronted by the inevitable theological contamination produced by new philosophy, their function was one of prevention and repression: a vigilant task of theological policing." pg 287

The famous astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei was brought before the Roman Catholic Church for heresy. It was a slow-roll process that involved investigations from the Jesuits, inquiry, and an eventual trial. Around 1615 the Church began to peer into Galileo's writings because he endorsed anti-Church doctrine of celestial movement: Copernican heliocentric theory, Tycho's parallax as it related to the movement of comets, and his corpuscular theory of light. These concepts and the publication of Dialogue Concerning the Two World System in 1632 brought on full inquisition charges in 1633.

Pietro Redondi argued the reason of atomism that launched heresy charges against Galileo. This concept refuted the Roman Catholic concept of transubstantiation: the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This was a step further from his corpuscular theory of light that dealt with the structure of solids and fluids (pg 13). This hypothesis opposed Aristotelian physics (pgs 9-27) and was explained in great detail according to Galileo in the documents appendix (pg 340-6).

...since in the Eucharist the appearance of the bread and not those of the body of Christ are sensible, it must mean that in the Eucharist there are atoms of bread, the substance of bread—and not the substance of the body of Christ; and this idea [of transubstantiation] is false. pg 314

This was a pretty dense read loaded with information pertaining to religious leaders and figures, places, events, concepts, and religious dogma. I found myself having to sidebar research various topics to fill in the gaps. This was definitely a learning endeavor for me. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a full-scope analysis of Galileo and his charges and trial of heresy. Thanks!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a bit of a tangled opinion of this books. When I first started it, I wasn't terribly impressed - it's much more discursive than your typical biography, and until I got into the author's style it felt a bit disjointed. But in the end that came around to be a really strong point - Redondi's book is certainly a biography about Galileo, but to a greater extent it winds up being a biography of his cultural atmosphere between about 1623 and 1630, especially during the ascendancy (and later difficulties) of Pope Urban VIII. It's very detailed and has a great sense of place. Redondi will write almost like a novelist, leaving little cliff hangers at the end of his chapters. Once you get into it, it's a lot of fun to read, all secret revenge plots and political machinations.

The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars it because I think there's a pretty good chance that it's not terribly accurate. The biography's main thesis is that Galileo wasn't condemned for his adherence to Copernican beliefs (or more accurately, his failure to follow a direct command of the Church), but rather the threat that one of his other scientific beliefs - physical materialism - posed towards the Catholic concept of Eucharistic transubstantiation. It's a very clever idea, but the support for it is very tenuous and Redondi is never able to entirely sell the point. Still, certainly worth a read.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the central thesis of the book doesn't really hold up, it is a deeply fascinating look at Galileo's rivalries, their intellectual basis, and historical context.

[Dana Kraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because i felt like it placed me in the actual 17th century in a way that I could understand people’s motivations, fears and methods, especially since they are all so different than mine. It took me some time to adjust to the writing style and to gain a tenuous hold on the philosophies and science of the time as described. Most of all, he treats all the actors with a level of respect rather than judgment or derision that would have been too easy. I admit that I started out with that mindset. He sums up that approach nicely in the conclusion.

“What is the advantage, one will ask at this point, of again diggin up a controversy that was a dialogue among the deaf, having no beneficent (but only a delaying) effect on the history of modern science? Certainly the theories of physics, unlike theology, did not obtain results from the century-old struggle, only obstacles. But there was an effect, and that history will make us appreciate it. It was the effect of making us conquer the autonomy of research and reason from which we benefit today. And one might appreciate that it did not descend from the heaven of Plato’s ideas, but was conquered at great cost in the seventeenth century, like every other human freedom.”

[Daniel Barrows · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surprisingly enjoyable to read, but ultimately not persuasive in his central thesis. I'm not sure that Redondi is wrong, but this book didn't convince me that he is right.