Galileo on the world systems : a new abridged translation and guide / Galileo Galilei; Maurice A. Finocchiaro.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Galilei, Galileo, Author.

Contributor:

Finocchiaro, Maurice A., Editor.

Standardized Title:

Dialogo dei massimi sistemi. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642. Dialogo dei massimi sistemi.

Galilei, Galileo.

Astronomy--Early works to 1800.

Astronomy.

Solar system--Early works to 1800.

Solar system.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (441 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, [1997]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Galileo's 1632 book, Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican, comes alive for twentieth-century readers thanks to Maurice Finocchiaro's brilliant new translation and presentation. Condemned by the Inquisition for its heretical proposition that the earth revolves around the sun, Galileo's masterpiece takes the form of a debate, divided into four "days," among three highly articulate gentlemen. Finocchiaro sets the stage with his introduction, which not only provides the human and historical framework for the Dialogue but also admits the reader gracefully into the basic non-Copernican understanding of the universe that would have been shared by Galileo's original audience. The translation of the Dialogue is abridged in order to highlight its essential content, and Finocchiaro gives titles to the various parts of the debate as a guide to the principal topics. By explicating his own critical reading of this text that is itself an exercise in critical reasoning on a gripping real-life controversy, he illuminates those universal, perennial activities of the human mind that make Galileo's book a living document. This is a concrete, hands-on introduction to critical thinking. The translation has been made from the Italian text provided in volume 7 of the Critical National Edition of Galileo's complete works edited by Antonio Favaro. The translator has also consulted the 1632 edition, as well as the other previous English translations, including California's 1967 version.Galileo on the World Systems is a remarkably nuanced interpretation of a classic work and will give readers the tools to understand and evaluate for themselves one of the most influential scientific books in Western civilization.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Editorial Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction

Outline of Selections

To the Discerning Reader

First Day

Second Day

Third Day

Fourth Day

Appendix

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-407) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786612355011

9781282355019

1282355015

9780520918221

0520918223

9780585055190

058505519X

OCLC:

630527816