Galileo on the world systems

the long version

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. Focusing on those universal, perennial activities of the human mind that make Galileo's book a living document, Finocchiaro elucidates the mental skills of critical reasoning, methodological reflection, and verbal rhetoric. With an appendix devoted to these activities and their place in the Dialogue, he offers the reader a concrete, hands-on introduction to critical thinking. 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. -- from back cover.