Science, Society and Faith: Gaming the Galileo Affair

Catalog description

Do religion and science complement each other or conflict? What are the limits of religious authority in political society? How do political forces affect religious institutions--and vice versa? Explores these and other questions primarily through an immersive historical role-playing game, 'The Trial of Galileo: Aristotelianism, the 'New Cosmology,' and the Catholic Church,' which takes place in 17th century Rome as bishops, professors and scientists confront findings of modern science that clash with the Aristotelian cosmology which had informed Catholic philosophy and teaching for centuries. Beyond close reading of primary texts from the era, students assume roles, from Cardinals and Jesuits to members of the Medici family, the Italian scientist Federico Cesi and, of course, Galileo himself. They engage in debates over the nature of faith and the role of science in obtaining knowledge about the world, and ultimately hold Galileo Galilei's infamous trial.