Life of Galileo Blog Post

“No, no, no. The only truth that gets through will be what we force through: the victory of reason will be the victory of people who are prepared to reason, nothing else. Your picture of the Campagna peasants makes them look like the moss on their own huts. How can anyone imagine that the sum of the angles in a triangle conflicts with their needs? But unless they get moving and learn how to think, they will find even the finest irrigation systems won’t help them. Oh, to hell with it: I see your people’s divine patience, but where is their divine anger?”

The quote that I chose comes from scene 8, in which Galileo and the Little Monk are discussing the forthcomings of truth, debating what should be made apparent to more common folk as well as the truths that intellectuals should investigate. Something interesting that was apparent throughout the story was the eagerness to discover, to learn more and share that information. The time in which the story was set, especially because of the strength of the religious presence, creates a tone of conformity (easily shown by the burnings of those that contradicted the main beliefs). Galileo is a prime figure to show this time period through, emphasizing the disconnect that their society had with factual discovery, and more so being encouraged as a blind following. It gave an interesting comparison to where we are now; ideally, we lead with actions driven by scientific curiosity and backing, but often times there are political, social, or still religious reasons that poison people’s motives.

            In this quote Galileo immediately emphasizes the need to discern the facts, showing that no truths will become apparent unless they work to discover them. It was easy to understand the controversy that this, and Galileo’s overall mindset, created within a strict religious setting. It emphasized a backhanded debunking of god, of a greater power or mystery that ambiguously explained why some things occur the way they do.

            This story made me think of something I learnt in my Russian Fairytales class, about levels of culture that are created:

-       High culture: produced by intellectuals, made for intellectuals

-       Folk culture: produced by regular people, made for regular people

-       Popular culture: produced by intellectuals, made for regular people

The interesting scenario in this story is that the religious intellectuals and high-powered figures believe what Galileo is researching and discovering should be 'high culture', but Galileo’s passion for discovery is based around the ability to present his work as 'popular culture', ensuring that everybody understands what is being unveiled. I was interested in the parallels and it made me wonder about the general concept for when something should be made for a specific group versus opening it up to a larger audience and letting them decide if they’re interested.