Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in Florence in 1632, was the most proximate cause of his being brought to trial before the Inquisition. Using the dialogue form, a genre common in classical philosophical works, Galileo masterfully demonstrates the truth of the Copernican system over the Ptolemaic one, proving, for the first time, that the earth revolves around the sun. Its influence is incalculable. The Dialogue is not only one of the most important scientific treatises ever written, but a work of supreme clarity and accessibility, remaining as readable now as when it was first published. This edition uses the definitive text established by the University of California Press, in Stillman Drake’s translation, and includes a Foreword by Albert Einstein and a new Introduction by J. L. Heilbron.
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Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian
Original Language: Italian
About the Author
J. L. Heilbron is a professor of history and Vice Chancellor Emeritus, University of California at Berkeley, and currently Senior Research Fellow, Worcester College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous books on the history of science, including most recently The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories and Geometry Civilized: History, Culture, and Technique.
Stephen Jay Gould is the Alexander Agassiz professor of zoology and professor of geology at Harvard and the Vincent Astor visiting professor of biology at New York University. Recent books include Full House, Dinosaur in a Haystack, and Questioning the Millennium. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York City.
Stephen Jay Gould is the Alexander Agassiz professor of zoology and professor of geology at Harvard and the Vincent Astor visiting professor of biology at New York University. Recent books include Full House, Dinosaur in a Haystack, and Questioning the Millennium. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York City.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
During the [in]famous controversy of Galileo and the Church, the actual point of contention was this very work which Galileo published. In the Dialogue, he was supposed to set forth arguments for and agains the Ptolemaic worldview (the unmoving earth in the centre of the universe) and the Copernican (the earth and other planets going around the sun). This book does that, and brilliantly, showing Galileo's resourcefulness as a scientist, philosopher (at least to an extent!) and writer. The charge against him was that rather than being even-handed, the book was clear support of Copernicanism. This is a non-obvious topic but what is obvious is the importance and magnificence of the work in terms of both the subject matter (the importance of the structure of the universe) and method (a colourful dialogue containing heated debate which spans literally dozens of arguments for and against each system).
The work has 3 characters: Salviati who is a Copernican, Simplicio who is an Aristotelian and follower of the Ptolemaic system, and Sagredo, a non-affiliated but intelligent person. They meet and debate over 4 days. The first deals with the question of whether the substance of the heavens is fundamentally different to the earth as well as some other fundamental assertions of Aristotelianism. The second deals with the earth's daily rotation. The third is about the alleged yearly orbit of the earth around the sun. The fourth (considered by Galileo to be the crown of his argument - which is all the more endearing as it is wrong) is about the cause of the tides.
Reading this is especially interesting because [almost!] all of us believe that the earth goes around the sun, so it's easy to just approach this simplistically. But the reality is, it was an actual matter of debate, as the book shows. And no, Galileo does not *prove* the earth moves (contrary to the blurb at the back of the book), rather he proposes some very good arguments. Reading them critically was great at making me question things I consider fundamental.
As per the edition, it contains a very good, readable translation along with Galileo's margin notes and good footnotes which unfortunately aren't matched to the body text so you have to flip forward and back. The only other disappointment was Einstein's simplistic yay-Galileo-boo-obviously-stupid-Church-and-Aristotelianism introduction. Other than that, it's great great great! An absolute milestone in human thought.
The work has 3 characters: Salviati who is a Copernican, Simplicio who is an Aristotelian and follower of the Ptolemaic system, and Sagredo, a non-affiliated but intelligent person. They meet and debate over 4 days. The first deals with the question of whether the substance of the heavens is fundamentally different to the earth as well as some other fundamental assertions of Aristotelianism. The second deals with the earth's daily rotation. The third is about the alleged yearly orbit of the earth around the sun. The fourth (considered by Galileo to be the crown of his argument - which is all the more endearing as it is wrong) is about the cause of the tides.
Reading this is especially interesting because [almost!] all of us believe that the earth goes around the sun, so it's easy to just approach this simplistically. But the reality is, it was an actual matter of debate, as the book shows. And no, Galileo does not *prove* the earth moves (contrary to the blurb at the back of the book), rather he proposes some very good arguments. Reading them critically was great at making me question things I consider fundamental.
As per the edition, it contains a very good, readable translation along with Galileo's margin notes and good footnotes which unfortunately aren't matched to the body text so you have to flip forward and back. The only other disappointment was Einstein's simplistic yay-Galileo-boo-obviously-stupid-Church-and-Aristotelianism introduction. Other than that, it's great great great! An absolute milestone in human thought.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Library Binding
This edition of the Dialogues of Galileo Galilei includes mathematical solutions to the problems Galileo treats in plain language and an introduction describing a new cannon-ball experiment of the type used by Galileo that may be used to distinguish between the predictions of General Relativity and the editor's unified field theory. The Dialogues are then more interesting to the modern physics student, as it begins to resemble a review of contemporary mechanics in addition to being a grand old piece of history. Additional forwarding material by Albert Einstein and historical background by translator Stillman Drake make this edition a supurb introduction to the history of physics in which now the correct solutions may be read from the margins in modern physical notation. In addition, a number of illustrations have been added to illustrate old terminology for describing heavenly bodies and to provide portraits of Copernicus, Galileo, and his contemporaries Tycho and Kepler.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I think one cannot be called "physicist" if never read this book. It is a classic that show how the foundations of the newtonian physics did were created.
And the good thing is this is a suitable book for everyone from the layman to the PHD, easy to read, requires nothing more than basic mathematical concepts and imagination.
The price, already low, is nothing compared to the pleasure of reading such piece of art.
And the good thing is this is a suitable book for everyone from the layman to the PHD, easy to read, requires nothing more than basic mathematical concepts and imagination.
The price, already low, is nothing compared to the pleasure of reading such piece of art.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dear God, a scientific thinker who could write beautifully
Galileo is a seriously good writer, he's got a great sense of rhythm and the imagery he employs to get his points across about everything from how logic works, to what happens when... Read more
Published 2 months ago by jafrank
This guy invented Science.
This guy invented Science. He had the brain to understand the world and he had the guts to confront Church when nobody else had. Read more
Published 6 months ago by James T. Kirk
A brilliant translation of a wonderful work
It's not the most alluring of titles, I admit, and even though most people have heard of Galileo and many know enough of his achievements to admire him, I suspect few people would... Read more
Published on January 9, 2010 by Sid Nuncius
A masterpiece written by a superb scientist
This is the famous book that got Galileo in trouble with the Inquisition. Galileo Galilei was one of the greatest scientists of all time. Read more
Published on November 3, 2006 by Istvan Simon
A must read for all educated people
A scientist who can write! Galileo writes with the intent that his readers understand, he meets you more than half way. Read more
Published on October 12, 2004 by Jefferson D. Bronfeld
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
MOST SERENE GRAND DUKE: Though the difference between man and the other animals is enormous, yet one might say reasonably that it is little less than the difference among men themselves. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
diurnal whirling, polar altitude, equinoctial plane, radii distant, ratio totius, stellar sphere, entire terrestrial globe, terrestrial radii, movable body, annual motion, accidental impediments, polar elevations, straight motion, mixed motions, whole terrestrial globe, lunar globe, diurnal motion, movable bodies, solar spots, elemental bodies, elemental sphere, diurnal rotation, annual movement, secondary light, meridian altitudes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Third Day, The First Day, Rule of Three, The Fourth Day, Firrt Day, Straits of Gibraltar, The Tbird Day, Dog Star, Nicholas Copernicus, Straits of Magellan New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
MOST SERENE GRAND DUKE: Though the difference between man and the other animals is enormous, yet one might say reasonably that it is little less than the difference among men themselves. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
diurnal whirling, polar altitude, equinoctial plane, radii distant, ratio totius, stellar sphere, entire terrestrial globe, terrestrial radii, movable body, annual motion, accidental impediments, polar elevations, straight motion, mixed motions, whole terrestrial globe, lunar globe, diurnal motion, movable bodies, solar spots, elemental bodies, elemental sphere, diurnal rotation, annual movement, secondary light, meridian altitudes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Third Day, The First Day, Rule of Three, The Fourth Day, Firrt Day, Straits of Gibraltar, The Tbird Day, Dog Star, Nicholas Copernicus, Straits of Magellan New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 9
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- The Advancement of Learning (Modern Library Science) by Francis Bacon in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Origin Of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition by Charles Darwin in Front Matter
- Galileo: Two New Sciences by Galileo Galilei in Front Matter
- The Science of Mechanics: A Critical and Historical Account of Its Development by Ernst Mach in Back Matter
- On the Origin of Species (Penguin Classics) by Charles Darwin in Front Matter
See all 9 books this book cites
- Essays on Galileo & the History & Philos by Stillman Drake on 15 pages
- Thus Spoke Galileo: The great scientist's ideas and their relevance to the present day by Andrea Frova on 7 pages
- Philosophical Concepts in Physics: The Historical Relation between Philosophy and Scientific Theories by James T. Cushing on 5 pages
- The Birth of a New Physics by I. Bernard Cohen on 5 pages
- The Subjectivity of Scientists and the Bayesian Approach by S. James Press on 4 pages
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