The Trial of Galileo: Aristotelianism, the "New Cosmology," and the Catholic Church, 1616-1633shows the confrontation between Copernicanism, as brilliantly propounded by Galileo, and the elegant cosmology of Aristotle, as defended energetically by conservatives within the Inquisition.

 

Part of the “Reacting to the Past” series, this text consists of a game in which students are assigned roles, informed by classic texts, set in a particular moment of intellectual and social ferment.  The issues range from the nature of faith and the meaning of the Bible to the scientific principles and methods as advanced by Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Giordano Bruno, and Galileo.  The game includes several optional science labs in optics and astronomy.