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Ending the Conflict: Science, Religion, and

the Universe

With Contributions from Betsy (River) Baker, Josephine Lee, and Loreal Robertson

A New Model of the Universe16th Century Astronomy

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Model of the Universe 500 Years Ago: Based on ancient speculation, the Earth was considered to be the center of the universe.

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The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) speculated that celestial objects were attached to fifty-five crystalline spheres

that rotated around the Earth at the center of the Universe.

Earth is at the center

of the Universe.

All motion in the

heavens is uniform circular motion.

Celestial objects are made from

perfect material and

cannot change their properties (e.g., their

brightness).

Three Guiding Principles

Aristotle’s Prime Mover

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Point of Reference

That celestial object is moving backwards and

getting brighter. That can’t be!

PROBLEM: Ancient model could not explainretrograde motion and varying brightness

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SOLUTION: Epicycles and deferents preservedguiding principles and explained observations.

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Movement of the Planets: As the center of the epicycle moves around the deferent, the planet moves around the epicycle. The blue line shows the apparent path.

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Further Refinements: To account for the detailed motion of the planets, in some cases, epicycles

were themselves placed on epicycles.

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The Ptolemaic Universe : Ideas about uniform circular motion and epicycles were cataloged by Ptolemy in 150 A.D. in his book the Almagest.

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During the Middle Ages, philosopher-theologian Thomas Aquinas (1222-1274) rediscovered Aristotle and blended his ideas with medieval theology.

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Aristotle’s Prime Mover became the

God of Christian theology.

The outermost sphere

became the Christian heaven.

Earth at center represented the Christian God’s

concern for mankind.

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STABILITY Earth was at center. Mankind

important in God’s plan.

COMFORTIndividual could

locate God. Soul’s destination would be above or below.

REASSURANCEDivine power

would triumph over corruption

and decay of earthly things

and lift the soul to an afterlife in

heaven.

Medieval Representation of Ptolemaic Universe

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Religious Dogma: Ideas originating with pagan Greek philosophers were incorporated into the Catholic church and became dogma. To challenge this view of the universe was to challenge, not only science, but theology.

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Did Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) get into trouble when he

proposed a sun-centered solar system?

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No, Copernicus was not investigated by the Church because he published his heliocentric (sun-centered) theory of the universe, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, on his deathbed.

18Copernicus’ Universe

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Representation of Copernicus’ Solar System

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The Heliocentric System offers a simple explanation for varying brightness and retrograde motion

21View Comparison between Ptolemaic and Copernican Systems

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Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) proved the Copernican theorywith his telescope, challenged Aristotle's universe and its

theological-philosophical worldview, and laid the foundationsfor dynamics (the study of motion) and gravity.

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Sunspots

Galileo observed sunspots that moved, indicating that the Sun was rotating on an axis and that it was

not made from a perfect, unchanging substance.

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What Galileo actually saw (proving Sun

in center):

What Galileo would have seen if Earth

in center:

He used his telescope to show that Venus went through a complete set of phases, just like the Moon. This observation confirmed the Copernican system and proved that the Ptolemaic system was incorrect.

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Galileo’s Relationship with the Church: Pope Urban VIII admired Galileo's intelligence, supported him in his scientific work, and gave him permission to write about the Copernican theory as long as he treated it as a hypothesis.

When Urban confessed that the Church would never accept the theory, Galileo satirized the Pope in a Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.

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In that dialog, Galileo associated Urban VIII with Simplicio, the staunch Aristotelian whose arguments had been refuted in the previous pages of the work. Convinced that Galileo had made a fool of him, Urban directed the Inquisition to move against him.

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Galileo was accused of challenging the Church’s authority and found guilty of two charges: He defied the order

to treat the Copernican theory as an hypothesis.

And, in so doing, he was suspected of heresy.

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Under threat of torture and death, he was forced to recant his Copernican views and sentenced to house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1642.

The Scientific RevolutionDiscoveries and Achievements

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Galileo’s discoveries were part of a revolution in scientific thinking, which began in the middle decades of the 16th century and continued through the early part of the 18th century.

During this period, there were gradual developments in astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology.

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A New Model of the Universe: Because of Galileo’s courage people accepted the theory proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) that the sun rather than the earth was the center of the universe.

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Laws of Motion. The most important contributions in physics were the theory of inertia, proposed by Galileo (1564-1642), and the force of gravity, discovered by Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).

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Elements of Nature: Englishman Robert Boyle (1627-1691) made chemistry respectable by his discovery that the arrangement of atoms determines the characteristics of matter. Previously, it had been associated with alchemy.

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Circulation of the Blood. William Harvey (1578-1657) accurately demonstrated how blood circulates through the human body.

Scientific Method (Empiricism): These achievements were based on the newly developed scientific method which involves:Observation and description

of a phenomenon. Formulation of an

hypothesis to explain the phenomena.

Experimentation to test the hypothesis.

If the experiments validate the hypothesis, it becomes a theory or law of nature. If they do not, it is rejected or modified.

Science frequently uses the language of mathematics.

Effects of the Scientific RevolutionMoving Toward the Modern World

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Skepticism and Independent Reasoning: For example, Descartes reached the extreme of skepticism by doubting his own existence. Then, he realized that his own act of thinking proved his own existence (I think, therefore, I am.)

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Challenges to Religion: The idea that the universe worked like a machine according to natural laws and without the intervention of God challenged established religious ideas.

In the 18th century, this position was adopted by the Deists who believed that reason should guide our thoughts and ideas, not revelation.

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Decline in Belief in Magic, Demons, and Witchcraft: By the 18th century, the educated classes denied the existence of demons and the power of witchcraft. The skeptical views of the educated classes were not shared by the common people for whom religion remained important. The result was a divide between learned and popular culture.

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Questions about Humanity's Role in the Universe: By making humans the inhabitants of a tiny planet circling the sun, the Copernican Universe reduced the importance of humanity. It led people to begin to question the place of humanity in creation.

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Gave Humanity Control of Nature: Some philosophers argued that by gaining knowledge of the laws of nature, people could control nature. Through science and technology, they could improve human life. This belief in progress became an integral part of Western culture.

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Challenges to Established Views of Women: The new scientific ideas challenged the ancient and medieval beliefs about the physical and mental inferiority of women by concluding that both men and women made equal contribution to reproduction. Nevertheless, traditional notions about women continued to dominate.

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Centuries later . . .

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In 1979, nearly 350 years after Galileo’s sentence, Pope John Paul II asked the Pontifical Academy of Science to conduct an in depth study of the controversial “Galileo Case.”

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By 1984, the panel’s findings were published in a series of essays entitled Galileo Galilei: 350 Years of History. The authors acknowledged that the judges who condemned Galileo had committed an error and that the Church was wrong in silencing him.

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Pope John Paul II spoke to the assembly about “the distinct but complementary rolesthat faith and science fulfill in human life.”

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He acknowledged “the emergence of complexity in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.”

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And asked a question important to scientists, philosophers, and theologians: “How are we to reconcile the explanation of the world that begins with the level of elementary entities and phenomena with the [understanding] that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?’”

A Modern Division of Labor:

SCIENCE tries to understand the nature of the physical universe using empirical methods. It does not address the meaning and purpose of life.

PHILOSOPHY is the pursuit of wisdom and does address the meaning and purpose of life from a secular point of view using logical reasoning.

RELIGION provides an explanation for the meaning and purpose of life from a theological point of view using faith. It does not provide a scientific explanation for the nature of the physical universe.*

* When such explanations exist, they were formulated before the advent of modern science and give an explanation within the cultural context of the day.

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SCIENCEObject:

PhysicalUniverseMethod:

Empiricism

RELIGIONObject:

Meaningof Life

Viewpoint:Theological

Method:Faith

PHILOSOPHYObject:

Meaningof Life

Viewpoint:SecularMethod:Logical

Reasoning

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Pope John Paul II concluded that “Contemporary culture demands a constant effort to synthesize knowledge and

to integrate learning.... A true culture cannot be conceived of without humanism and wisdom.”

An early non-Western attempt “to synthesize knowledge and to integrate learning”:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” -- Buddha (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.

A blend ofscience &

philosophy or science &

religion?

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Our Knowledge of the Universe Is in Its Infancy:

A light-year is the distance light travels in one year. It is 9.5 trillion (9,500,000,000,000) kilometers. The size of a galaxy may be as little as a thousand light-years across or as

much as a million light-years across.A galaxy contains stars, gas, and dust which are held together as a group by gravity. There may be

millions, or even billions, of stars in one galaxy. There are billions of

galaxies in the Universe.

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Let the scientists, philosophers, and

theologians explore the Universe in a spirit of truth, wisdom, and cooperation –

freely, intelligently, and peacefully.

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Online Resources:

DeMarco, Donald. "The Dispute Between Galileo and the Catholic Church." Catholic Education Resource Center. May-June 1986. Catholic Education Resource Center. 19 July 2008 http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/science/sc0043.html.

"Faith Can Never Conflict with Reason." L'Osservatore Romano. 4 Nov. 1992. 19 July 2008 http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/sci-cp/sci-9211.html.

Golden, Frederick. "Rehabilitating Galileo's Image." Dr. S. D. Marcum Course Website. 12 Mar. 1984. Time Magazine. 19 July 2008 http://www.cas.muohio.edu/~marcumsd/p111/lectures/grehab.htm.

Johnston, George Sim. “The Galileo Affair” 6 July 2008

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0005.html. Rowland, Wade. "Essay on Galileo Galilei." Wade Rowland. 2003.

Wade Rowland Enterprises Inc. 19 July 2008 http://www.waderowland.com/articles/galileo-essay.html.

Schirrmacher, Thomas. “The Galileo Affair: History or Heroic Hagiography.” Technical Journal. April 2000: 91‐100. http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v14/i1/galileo.asp?vprint=1.