Reflection on Galileo's Trial

I was very happy with the outcome of Galileo’s trial, he drew large amounts of support from most of the field. Most voiced their opinions on their displeasure for the Church, while others brought upon rational arguments supporting Galileo instead of specifically targeting the Church. While personally I did not look to attack the Church as many did, I sought solely to support Galileo in his findings and perhaps for the Church to seek their desired stance of geocentricism through the same level of research and study as Galileo did. I applaud the adamant support that many had for the plight of scientists who have feared the Church and its responses to research and findings of particular scientists for ideas that contradict any of the Church’s beliefs. One group that I did not expect support from however were the ancient and pre-1563 scientists. Many of these scientists created or promoted the idea of geocentricism and were held in a higher light by the Church, and their support was not expected to say the least. The evidence promoted by Galileo through his meticulous and credible research must have convinced them otherwise from their original theories, as their support would have been crucial to the Church’s argument. The Protestants, while opposing the Church, were not supporting Galileo but rather going against the Church and pushing their own personal, extraneous agenda as expected. The philosophes brought strong support for Galileo, sharing their reasoning and theories on their observations on humanity and how it applied to the innocence of Galileo. The only group to really support the Church in Galileo’s trial was the nobility, and it was a very weak and loose support, as they only supported them in the sake of staying on the Church’s good side. In the end, the outcome of Galileo’s trial is a victory for scientists like myself; we no longer need to fear the Church trying to suppress our ideas and findings without the uproar and support of the community, as Galileo’s trial has shown.