Galileo goes to jail: and other myths about science and religion

Abstract

* Contents * Acknowledgments * Introduction Ronald L. Numbers * Myth 1. That the Rise of Christianity Was Responsible for the Demise of Ancient Science David C. Lindberg * Myth 2. That the Medieval Christian Church Suppressed the Growth of Science Michael H. Shank * Myth 3. That Medieval Christians Taught That the Earth Was Flat Lesley B. Cormack * Myth 4. That Medieval Islamic Culture Was Inhospitable to Science S. Nomanul Haq * Myth 5. That the Medieval Church Prohibited Human Dissection Katharine Park * Myth 6. That the Copernican System Demoted Humans from the Center of the Cosmos Dennis R. Danielson * Myth 7. That Giordano Bruno Was the First Martyr of Modern Science Jole Shackelford * Myth 8. That Galileo Was Imprisoned and Tortured for Advocating Copernicanism Maurice A. Finocchiaro * Myth 9. That Christianity Gave Birth to Modern Science Noah Efron * Myth 10. That the Scientific Revolution Liberated Science from Religion Margaret J. Osler * Myth 11. That Catholics Did Not Contribute to the Scientific Revolution Lawrence Principe * Myth 12. That Rene Descartes Originated the Mind-Body Distinction Peter Harrison * Myth 13. That Isaac Newton's Mechanistic Cosmology Eliminated the Need for God Edward Davis * Myth 14. That the Church Denounced Anesthesia in Childbirth on Biblical Grounds Rennie B. Schoepflin * Myth 15. That the Theory of Organic Evolution Is Based on Circular Reasoning Nicolaas A. Rupke * Myth 16. That Evolution Destroyed Charles Darwin's Faith in Christianity--until He Reconverted on His Deathbed James Moore * Myth 17. That Huxley Defeated Wilberforce in Their Debate over Evolution and Religion David N. Livingstone * Myth 18. That Darwin Destroyed Natural Theology Jon H. Roberts * Myth 19. That Darwin and Haeckel Were Complicit in Nazi Biology Robert J. Richards * Myth 20. That the Scopes Trial Ended in Defeat for Antievolutionism Edward J. Larson * Myth 21. That Einstein Believed in a Personal God Matthew Stanley * Myth 22. That Quantum Physics Demonstrated the Doctrine of Free Will Daniel P. Thurs * Myth 23. That Intelligent Design Represents a Scientific Challenge to Evolution Michael Ruse * Myth 24. That Creationism Is a Uniquely American Phenomenon Ronald L. Numbers * Myth 25. That Modern Science Has Secularized Western Culture John Hedley Brooke * Notes * List of Contributors * Index