Instructor: Daniel Schwartz
Instructor Email: d1schwar@ucsd.edu
Prerequisites: Algebra I

Course Description: In the history of science, few have acquired the fame of Galileo. This fame rests on his astronomical discoveries—that Jupiter has moons, that the moon is mountainous, that the sun has spots. His fame also rests on his vehement arguments for Copernicanism, the theory that the sun is at the center of the universe and that the earth revolves around it. Yet these achievements, as brilliant as they were, were only made possible by Galileoís innovative methods and modes of reasoning. In this course, students will study Galileo in action, focusing on his arguments for Copernicanism. Following him step by step through his process of reasoning, they will learn not just what Galileo's conclusions were, but how he arrived at them. For example, they will observe the night sky through a telescope similar in quality to the one that Galileo used. They will also be required to lay out on the board many of his mathematical demonstrations. Along the way, students will periodically step back from Galileo's scientific practice to study the philosophical views concerning scientific method and the nature of science that are embodied in his arguments-contrasting them, meanwhile, to the views advocated by his Scholastic and Jesuit critics. Some of the philosophical questions will include: What role should the Bible play in science? Can science give us certain, unshakeable knowledge of the world? How much evidence should we demand before accepting a hypothesis? Students will consider the extent to which contrasting answers to these and other questions played a role during the course of Galileo's trial.

Course Objectives: By the end of the course, students will understand and be able to evaluate Galileoís arguments for Copernicanism. They will be able to draw on Galileo's reasoning for lessons in sound thinking. They will have developed the skills of reconstructing complex arguments and of communicating them to others with clarity and precision. Finally, they will be able to evaluate the nature of Galileo's conflict with the Church.

Expectations:

This course involves a fair amount of reading, some of it difficult. Students are expected to make a serious effort to understand the text and then to come to class ready to ask questions and to get still clearer on the material. It is imperative that students show respect towards all members of the classroom, especially during discussions of controversial topics in philosophy and religion. Class presentations, consisting of demonstrations at the board, will be required.

Course Outline:

Week 1: Classroom topics: Historical, scientific, and philosophical context: Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Council of Trent, Bellarmine; Galileo's telescopic discoveries: the rugged moon, Jupiter's moons, sunspots, phases of Venus

Labs: the telescope - students will use a telescope similar to Galileo's in order to attempt to reproduce his observations; from their own sketches of the moon, students will calculate the elevation of its mountains

Week 2: Classroom topics: Galileo on the nature of science and on the role of authority (whether that of Aristotle or that of scripture) in scientific inquiry; Galileo's reply to some Ptolemaic objections: vertical fall, centrifugal force, stellar parallax, etc; Galileo's simplicity arguments

Labs: in-class demonstrations from Galileo's Dialogue

Week 3: Classroom topics: Galileo's positive arguments for Copernicanism: accommodating observation; Galileo's flawed argument from the tides; the Galileo Affair

Labs: in-class demonstrations continued