Change of Galileo's art of persuasion in the sciences dispute and relations with language representation of the baroque period

2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 16520195
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: ヨーロッパ語系文学
• Research Institution: Kyoto Sangyo University
• Principal Investigator: KOBAYASHI Mitsuru Kyoto Sangyo University, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Professor (50242996)
• Project Period (FY): 2004 – 2007
• Keywords: Galileo / baroque / Marino / Campanella

Research Abstract

Galileo analyzed the relation between the Holy Bible and natural philosophy in the "Letter to Castelli" of 1613, and he proved that Copernican system is more convincing than the Aristotle Ptolemaic system, but there was also an aggressiveness of the logic, and he was involved in a religious dispute. As writing activity was developing from The Assayer to Dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems, his art of persuasion was evolving into the art that was able not only to defeat an enemy logically, but also to draw a reader with "an allegory".
There was a cultural climate which regarded "senses" as important in the first half of the 17th century. For example, Galileo regards "sensate experiences and necessary demonstrations" as method for investigation of natural philosophy, Campanella explains nature from a viewpoint that everything has senses, and Marino takes the pleasure through the five senses as his poetry subject.
Marino praised Galileo as the inventor of new apparatus who serves "senses" in his Adonis. In this poem two Italians are drawn as symbols in a new epoch, Columbus a navigator of the sea and geographical conqueror and Galileo another navigator of the heavens and conqueror of the natural philosophy. And consequently this work. is considered as a baroque variation of the poetry anxious for Italy that invokes the Italian great persons, such as Petrarca's "Italia mia" included in Canzoniere and Leopardi's "Ad Angelo Mai" included in Canti. When I consider that Marino published this work at the Court in Paris where he was gone by invitation of Maria de' Medici, I may place it with an important work of a precursory step of the "querelle des Anciens at des Modernes". This is a proof that Galileo's existence was a true event in 17th century Europe.