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This course attempts to examine some aspects of the classical debate concerning the relationship between science and religion, with particular emphasis on the birth of the “new science” which emerged throughout Europe in the early 17th century. Galileo Galilei occupies a central place in this study, as his challenge to Aristotelian physics and astronomy as well as the traditional interpretation of the Bible powerfully influenced the beliefs and convictions held by enlightened men and women for almost two millennia. In order to understand that challenge correctly, one requires a cursory knowledge of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Francis Bacon and Nicholas Copernicus, especially from a philosophical point of view. After examining in some depth the “Galileo Affair,” the course will explore analogous issues raised by Giordano Bruno and Charles Darwin, emphasizing the role of rationality in the knowledge of a Divine Being.
