No other work on Galileo Galilei has brought together such a complete description of the historical context in its political, cultural, philosophical, religious, scientific, and personal aspects as this volume has done. In addition to covering the whole of Galileo's life, it focuses on those things that are most pertinent to the Galileo Affair, which culminated in his condemnation by the Inquisition in 1633. It also includes an extensive discussion of the relationship between religion and science in general, and of the relationship between Christianity and science in particular, without which a true understanding of the affair is much weakened. This discussion of the relationship of Christianity with science-a long, generally positive relationship-is most timely since the case of Galileo is, as many historians and Pope Benedict XVI have stated, the beginning of the alienation of the Church from much of the intellectual culture of our present age. The "warfare between science and religion" is an old myth that should finally be retired, but for many it is still axiomatic. This work shows the significance of astrology in the history of society and the Church (Galileo was a master astrologer), and the importance of the internal tensions and factions within the Roman Curia in the seventeenth century. It also tells of the profound battles among Church leadership over the direction of the Church in a time of uncertainty and intellectual and cultural ferment. The Galileo Affair is not just of its time and place, and it is not just about Galileo, but it touches upon that perennial issue of how the Church deals with issues of adaptation and change.

This volume brings John Milton's Paradise Lost into dialogue with the challenges of cosmology and the world of Galileo, whom Milton met and admired: a universe encompassing space travel, an earth that participates vibrantly in the cosmic dance, and stars that are "world[s] / Of destined habitation." Milton's bold depiction of our universe as merely a small part of a larger multiverse allows the removal of hell from the center of the earth to a location in the primordial abyss. In this wide-ranging work, Dennis Danielson lucidly unfolds early modern cosmological debates, engaging not only Galileo but also Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler, and the English Copernicans, thus placing Milton at a rich crossroads of epic poetry and the history of science.

Teachers' Learning: Stories of Science Education is aimed at science educators who wish for a deeper understanding of how teachers learn to teach science and the role of stories in reporting science education research. It is a fascinating look at the knowledge teachers have and use, how context influences teachers' work, and the role of reflection and collaboration in teachers' learning. At the core of each chapter is a story or group of stories written by or about teachers. These stories serve as a form of data to build a set of arguments about how science teachers grow and the possibilities for change in teaching. This book is designed for all those involved in the science teaching enterprise. Pre-service teachers, graduate students and science education researchers are invited to utilise both the findings about teachers' learning and the research processes employed to develop those findings.

Not only a hero of the scientific revolution, but after his conflict with the church, a hero of science, Galileo is today rivalled in the popular imagination only by Newton and Einstein. But what did Galileo actually do, and what are the sources of the popular image we have of him? This 1998 collection of specially-commissioned essays is unparalleled in the depth of its coverage of all facets of Galileo's work. A particular feature of the volume is the treatment of Galileo's relationship with the church. It will be of interest to philosophers, historians of science, cultural historians and those in religious studies.

This book explores sixteen contemporary issues in science education by examining the practical dilemmas these issues provoke for teachers. It is a unique book which presents student-teachers with personal and professional insights into a whole range of science topics including the laws of science, teaching ethics, laboratories and culture, gender and ethnicity. Each chapter takes as its focus one of the sixteen issues and begins with a case-study of a science lesson written by a practising teacher. This is followed by a short, reflective piece by the same teacher on how the lesson went and how opportunities for teaching and learning could be improved. This reflection is followed by commentaries from some of the world's leading science educators on what they felt were the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson. The extensive use of teacher-written case studies and commentaries will make this book suitable for the pre-service courses, where case methods are typically used to provide a context for learning the craft of teaching. The addition of commentaries from distinguished scholars makes the book relevant for postgraduate courses in science education and as a reference volume for teacher researchers.

This new scientific biography explores the influences on, and of, Galileo’s exceptional work, thereby revealing novel connections with the worldviews of his age and beyond. Galileo Galilei's contribution to science is unquestionable. And his conflict with the church establishment of his time is no less famous. In this book, authored by a physicist and history scholar, Galileo's life and work are described against a backdrop of the prior scientific state of the art in his various fields of achievement. Particular emphasis is placed on Galileo's vision of the world in relation to historic and also future cosmological models. The impact of his discoveries and theories for the later development of physics and astronomy is a further focus of the narrative.