It is also important to consider that Galileo was a serious Catholic
with several of his family members financially dependent on the good
will of the Church. It is not as if it would have only been his head
and his own finances for the sake of his scientific ideas. G. would
have sacrificed a decent family name, his faith in his God, and
financial security for his family and three children. He should still
be held accountable for the *inappropriate* way that he presented his
ideas in the first place.

It is important to realize that scientists are been affected by their
culture and humanity; it is also important to remember their
historical contexts.

-Christie Hanzlik-Green

>You are, surely, a little harsh on Galileo?
>
>>  might be a grand delusion), and then being a coward (recanting after
>>  being shown the instruments of torture),
>
>1) Would you like to be tortured just for a (debatable) theory on the solar
>system?
>
>
>>  set the stage for the split between science as technique and science as
>>  responsible human political activity, which besets our world.
>>Galileo taught
>>  scientists to stay away from social issues and just tinker with instruments.
>>  Of course there have been many scientists who have done better
>>than Galileo's
>>  example, but certainly not through him inspiring human decency, much less
>>  nobility of spirit.
>
>2) How can you blame Galileo for 3 centuries of divorcing technology from
>responsibility?
>The usual telling of his story portrays him as bravely publishing the truth,
>and condones his recanting as a forced confession of a man under pressure.
>Yes I know you already know that: my point is that the Story (not the
>reality) is the role model that people follow or not.
>
>Surely this phenomenon (in as far as it exists) would be better attributed
>to
>(1) divorcing epistemology from morality and
>(2) structures in society whereby the scientist is paid for doing science
>(not making value judgements) and the manager is paid to manage (not for
>knowing science)
>And on this latter point, it's not clear to me that modern society differs
>from pre-modern. 'Just following orders' surely predates modernity.
>
>
>Chris
>
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