GAIA -- THE EARTH SYSTEM
SCIENCE, DOGMA, AND TIME
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Modern science owes its origins to the philosophers of the Renaissance who began to try to answer questions about the natural world by observation and experimentation. These early experimenters claimed that there were Laws of Nature that could be understood by careful observation. They felt that one could ask questions about the Earth and design experiments that would provide reasonable answers. This attempt to ask and answer questions brought the natural philosophers as they called themselves into conflict with organized religion. Church dogma held that to seek answers through experiments was an affront to God because only God could understand His work. The confrontation between church and science, which continues to this day, is probably best exemplified by the trial of Galileo. He had argued forcefully on the basis of observations that the Earth orbited the sun, a position that put him in opposition to Church dogma which held that the Earth was the center of the universe. The trial and punishment of Galileo ended the scientific Renaissance of southern Europe, opening the way for first England and France and later Germany to become the intellectual and military powers of the continent. The effect of stifling free scientific thought in Italy in the early 1600's should be considered by those in this country who would like to teach religious dogma, for example creationism, instead of science. |
B. Copernicus, Galileo and the Sun-centered model
C. The Trial of Galileo
II. The Age of the Universe
B. Hutton and Geologic Investigations
2. Describe the effects of the Inquisition on the Italian and Spanish scientific communities.
3. Give evidence to support the model that places the sun at the center of the Solar System.
4. Explain the importance of rocks at Sicar Point to our understanding of geologic process and the age of the Earth.
5. Discuss the significance of the geologic view of an
old Earth to the Darwin's model of evolution by natural selection.