Date/Time
Monday
19 Apr 2010
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Location
470 Stephens Hall

Event Type
Brownbag

Dr. Alfredo Damanti
University of Bologna

Galileo’s ‘Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Lorraine’ is a fundamental piece in the history of the ideas for the modern Western tradition. It has repeatedly been analyzed by many scholars, who have discussed above all the argument regarding the relationship between science and theology. The paper will focus on the history of the philosophical ideas underlying the argument of the ‘Letter’, showing Galileo’s indebtedness to a commentary tradition tied to Aristotle’s ‘On the soul’. The final section will explore the frontispiece of Galileo’s ‘Assayer’, suggesting that it is an iconographic translation of the ‘Letter to Christina’.