Faith and Reason Are they compatible Answer: It depends

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Faith and Reason-- Are they compatible?Answer
It depends!
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Galileo and The Scientific Revolution

• Subplot The relationship of Faith and Reason
• Sub-subplot The modern analogy of Deep
  Time/Evolution vs. Creationism

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In Galileos Time400 years ago

• They were definitely incompatible!
• Caused by flawed views of both Faith and Reason

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One definition of Theology is Fide quaerens
intellectum

• Which translates
• Faith seeking understanding
• I think this applies aptly to the Galileo story

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Another false understanding of Faith and Reason
IMHO -)

• Faith is believing what you know aint so - Mark
  Twain

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And this kind of idea exists todayamong the
evangelical Atheists

• E.g., Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

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In Galileos time, the incompatibility of Faith
and Reason was caused by

• Faith in overly literal prooftexting of certain
  Scripture verses and the infallibility of Church
  tradition
• Reason according to the old Aristotelian (or
  Peripatetic) system

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Creation versus Creationism

• Cores 5 6 will cover this

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Different categories of knowledge

• Creation There is a Creator! (Who and Why)
• For Christians, the Why is manifest in the
  Incarnation when the Creator becomes Creature and
  relates to us...
• John 11-14
• Creationism The details of How creation occurs
• According to a literal reading of a religious
  text or tradition, whatever that may be
• For some Christians, this means a six 24-hour
  day creation according to a particular reading of
  Genesis 11- 24a
• And particular is very important to any
  discussion!
• The Atheist acknowledges that only one category
  of knowledge exists namely Nature!
• The Believer --- Christian or otherwise says that
  this is an incomplete view of reality

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This conflict became evident with the advent of
Scientific Method

• Dr. Jennifer Coys lecture mentioned Scientific
  Method with its systematic observation and
  testing of results.
• (Hopefully) Cores 56 will expand upon this! ?
• Arguably, Galileo was the first scientist in the
  modern sense of the word.
• Observations of Nature just kept getting in the
  way of traditional ideas.
• Important questions
• Did these new ideas eliminate the need for Faith
  and God?
• Is atheism the more enlightened view?

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Some Wisdom from the Past
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St. Thomas Aquinasfrom Summa Theologica (1273)

• "In discussing questions of this kind two rules
  are to be observed, as Augustine teaches. The
  first is, to hold to the truth of Scripture
  without wavering. The second is that since Holy
  Scripture can be explained in a multiplicity of
  senses, one should adhere to a particular
  explanation only in such measure as to be ready
  to abandon it if it be proved with certainty to
  be false, lest Holy Scripture be exposed to the
  ridicule of unbelievers, and obstacles be placed
  to their believing."

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Compare these quotes

• The Peripatetics, as the followers of Aristotle
  were called, could not accept the view that the
  new star was located among the fixed stars. They
  believed that the celestial region was perfect
  and immutable. They said that since the star was
  new it could not be in the immutable celestial
  region, so it must be in the terrestrial region,
  closer to Earth than the moon, and Galileo must
  be wrong. Text, p. 44.

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And this from a modern creationist organization

• No apparent, perceived or claimed evidence in
  any field, including history and chronology, can
  be valid if it contradicts the Scriptural
  record. - Answers in Genesis Statement of Faith,
  Section D6

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What is the Philosophy of Science?

• Page 72 But I do not feel obliged to believe
  that that same God who has endowed us with
  senses, reason, and intellect has intended to
  forgo their use and by some other means to give
  us knowledge which we can attain by them. He
  would not require us to deny sense and reason in
  physical matters which are set before our eyes
  and minds by direct experience or necessary
  demonstrations. - Galileo

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Basically, this means that observations of nature
through our senses and instruments can be trusted

• This philosophy is foundational to the
  Scientific Method
• Galileo referred to the Book of Nature
• Or what I like to call the Other Book of
  Creation
• This is a typical attitude of believers of any
  faith who also accept the body of knowledge of
  science to explain the how of creation.

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Galileo was also a man of Faith

• Page 71 I think in the first place that it is
  very pious to say and prudent to affirm that the
  holy Bible can never speak untruth whenever its
  true meaning is understood. But I believe nobody
  will deny that it is often very abstruse, and may
  say things which are quite different from what
  its bare words signify. Galileo
• Note This statement is very similar to what a
  modern Christian theistic evolutionist such as
  Francis Collins would say!
• The Language of God A Scientist Presents
  Evidence for Belief

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Scripture teaches us how to go to heaven, not
how the heavens go. The Starry Messenger, 1610

• Are Faith and Reason completely separate areas
  with no overlap?
• Cores 56 explore this -
• Look for the NOMA concept

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The Ancient Greeks strove for perfection

• What are the perfect geometrical figures?
• Lines and Circles!
• Recall high school geometry class?

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The Ancients Combined Two Ideals Perfection of
the Heavens and Importance of Earth (Geocentrism)

• Stars and Planets including (Sun and Moon) go in
  circular orbits around Earth on crystal spheres

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One problem with modelRetrograde Motion of Mars

• This is what we saw looking at Mars in 1995
• Note at one point it seems to go backwards
• Ptolemy also saw this in 100 A.D. and had to
  modify the model

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JAN 95
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Ptolemys Model EpicyclesStill keeps SS
Earth-centered and circular orbits
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NICOLAUS COPERNICUS - 1543

• Said the hypothesis of the Sun at the center is a
  simpler explanation of the data
• Simplicity is also part of the philosophy of
  science
• New insight - he stated that perceived motion is
  relative - What appears to us as motions of the
  Sun arise not from its motion but from the motion
  of Earth.
• The Copernican system is what Galileo found
  support for (not proof of!) with his wonderfully
  systematic observations of the heavens

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The Copernican System
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The Copernican System and its Flaws

• Galileos observations contradicted Ptolemys
  system and supported (not proved!) the Copernican
  system
• But this system was also not completely correct!
• Copernicus system also assumed circular orbits
  (old ideas die hard!) and added epicycles like
  Ptolemy did
• Galileo ignored the writings of Johannes Kepler,
  who determined a more correct system elliptical
  orbits
• Galileo also was incorrect on the cause of tides
  pg. 82

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Before we look at evidence for Copernicus
System, lets see Galileos use of Scientific
Method against the Peripatetics (Aristotle)

• Galileo disproved Aristotles physics in the area
  of falling bodies by a test (Scientific Method!)
• Aristotle believed that objects of different
  weight would fall at different rates
• he also believed that the rate of fall and the
  ability to float would depend on shape, which is
  actually correct!
• The following story may be apocryphal He dropped
  objects of different weights from the Leaning
  Tower of Pisa

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• Both the stone ball and Galileos worst critic
  fell at the same speed

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What Galileo did do for sure was to experiment
with pendulums
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The period of the swing was the same for cork and
lead bobs this is the same result as the
Leaning Tower of Pisa experimenttv(2L/g)
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Galileo and His Telescope
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Galileo and His Telescope

• Galileo builds a telescope in 1609
• He wasnt the inventor, but he did improve the
  design, and he was the first to use it to study
  the heavens systematically
• Brought the Cosmos 10-30 times closer and
  revealed facts that shattered some old ideas

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He found craters, mountains, and valleys on the
Moon

• But this was really only a small problem for the
  Old view since the Moon was close to an imperfect
  Earth, but Galileo found it to be a bit more
  imperfect than Aristotle would have thought

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Now the Conflict

• Old idea - Earth does not rotate and no other
  planet has a moon, and all bodies orbit Earth
• Copernicus used Math to say Earth does rotate.
• Galileo found spots on the Sun. They showed the
  Sun rotated and has imperfections
• Galileo observed that Jupiter rotated --- and had
  moons (the Medicean Planets)
• Galileo observed that Venus had phases like the
  Moon and it changed size with its phases,
  supporting that it orbits the Sun not Earth

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SUNSPOTS
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The Conflict

• Old Idea - Everything In The Universe Orbits
  Around Earth.
• But Galileo found planets that go around
  Jupiter, not Earth

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The Galilean Moons or Medicean Planets
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The Conflict

• Old Idea - Everything In The Universe Orbits
  Around Earth.
• Galileo found that the planet Venus has phases,
  like our Moon.
• Phases, by themselves only mean that Venus is
  between Earth and the Sun, which is consistent
  with the Old view
• But, he observed the planet changes size with its
  phases, and this is only possible with a
  non-circular orbit.

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The Phases of Venus
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More Conflict -didnt need a telescope for this
one!

• OLD IDEA - The stars are attached to a giant
  sphere, in an immutable celestial region
• OBSERVATION that got in the way in 1604 a new
  star -- a Nova -- appeared in the sky. This
  is sometimes called Keplers Star.
• This new star showed no parallax, meaning that
  it was a great distance from Earth it was in
  the perfect stellar region
• But according to the Peripatetics (Aristotles
  followers) this couldnt be!

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The observations must be wrong, not the
traditional views

• Remember this quote from the text?

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• The Peripatetics, as the followers of Aristotle
  were called, could not accept the view that the
  new star was located among the fixed stars. They
  believed that the celestial region was perfect
  and immutable. They said that since the star was
  new it could not be in the immutable celestial
  region, so it must be in the terrestrial region,
  closer to Earth than the moon, and Galileo must
  be wrong. Text, p. 44.

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Quotes from some ChurchmenMartin Luther

• "People gave ear to an upstart astrologer to show
  that the earth revolves, not the heavens or the
  firmament, sun and the moon... This fool or
  fellow wants to reverse the entire science of
  astronomy but sacred Scriptures tell us that
  Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, and not
  the earth." - Table Talk (Tischreden)

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Quotes from some ChurchmenJohn Calvin

• Those that assert that 'the earth moves and
  turns'... are motivated by a spirit of
  faultfinding possessed by the devil, they aim to
  pervert the order of nature. Sermon 8 on
  First Corinthians
• "Who will place the authority of Copernicus above
  that of the Holy Spirit?" - Commentary on Genesis

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Quotes from some ChurchmenRobert Cardinal
Bellarmine from Galileos Trial

• "To assert that the earth revolves around the sun
  is as erroneous as the claim that Jesus Christ
  was not born of a virgin."
• "His (Galileos) pretended discovery vitiates the
  whole Christian plan of salvation.

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Galileo runs afoul of the Inquisition

• Publishes three controversial books Letters on
  Sunspots, The Assayer, and Dialogue of the Two
  Greatest Systems in the World
• Galileo was a man who valued both Faith and
  Reason, and the culture wasnt ready for this yet
• Two big problems for him
• He valued both his scientific discoveries
  (reason) and his Catholic faith, and wasnt
  willing to compromise either
• He had a witty and sarcastic style which
  irritated his politically powerful opponents, and
  he seemed a bit naïve to this effect

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Fact or Theory?Evidence or Proof?

• These terms were misunderstood in Galileos time
  and
• Theyre still misunderstood today!
• See Foscarinis quote on page 74

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I say that if a real proof be found that the sun
is fixed and does not revolve around the earth,
but the earth around the sun, then it will be
necessary, very carefully, to proceed to the
explanation of the passages of Scripture which
appear to be contrary, and we should say rather
that we have misunderstood these than pronounce
to be false which is demonstrated. (Emphasis
mine -RO)
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Several issues are eerily similar to what one
sees in creationist arguments

• The confusion of evidence with proof
• The false distinction of Operational and
  Origins science - p. 75 Gods creation was
  becoming an object of direct human observation,
  which could be interpreted without the help of
  the Scriptures or religion.
• Misrepresentation of scientific arguments See
  p. 74 for the two accusations submitted to the
  Inquisition against Galileo, neither of which
  were his own words.

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Several issues are eerily similar to what one
sees in creationist arguments

• The teach the controversy argument of the
  modern Intelligent Design Movement smacks a bit
  of Galileos forced disclaimer in Dialogue
• The Copernican doctrine is neither true nor
  conclusive and it would be excessive boldness for
  anyone to limit and restrict the Divine Power and
  Wisdom to one particular fancy of his own. p.
  82

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Galileos sarcastic wit gets him in trouble

• The character who stands for Church authority in
  Dialogue is named Simplicio (simpleton)
• Simplicio can only admit arguments that come from
  traditional texts, not from physical evidence
• Pope Urban VIII may have thought Galileo was
  referring to him
• In any case Urban despised Galileo to the end
  p. 96

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Galileos Trial in 1633

• The way in which Galileo reacted to this action
  (the Inquisition trial) is a proof of his own
  inner conflict. Had he been less devout a
  Catholic, he could have refused to go before the
  Inquisition in Rome On the other hand, had he
  been less convinced of his scientific opinions,
  he could have given them up and remained at peace
  with the men representing the Church in his time.

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Galileos Trial page 85

• Trumped-up charges using possibly false documents
• Galileo caved after months of moral torture and
  gave a pitiful recantation of his scientific
  views

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Galileos Trial Epilogue

• Eppur si muove And yet it moves Did Galileo
  say this after his trial? This is an Italian
  legend from the 18th century, which at least
  shows popular support for his struggle.
• Postponed progress in astronomy in Catholic
  countries for decades
• Englishman Isaac Newton combined his new theories
  of gravity with the Kepler model and perfected it
  a century later
• Some later Roman Catholic Church doctrine
• 1757 Benedict XIV allowed teaching that Earth
  moves
• 1893 Leo XIII issues Providentissimus Deus which
  gives a view of Science and Scripture very
  similar to Galileos
• Today The Roman Catholic Church has a very
  open-minded view of Faith and Reason, more
  precisely Catholic Faith and Natural Science.
• A famous statement is John Paul IIs Truth Cannot
  Contradict Truth.
• Here are some parting words from a committed
  Christian who is also a respected scientist

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Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Head of the Human
Genome Project

• I think scientist-believers are the most
  fortunate. We have the opportunity to explore the
  natural world at a time in history where
  mysteries are being revealed almost on a daily
  basis. We have the opportunity to perceive the
  unraveling of those mysteries in a special
  perspective that is an uncovering of God's
  grandeur. This is a particularly wonderful form
  of worship.
• - Faith and the Human Genome, Paper given to the
  2002 ASA convention