Informed by currents in sociology, cultural anthropology, and literary theory, Galileo, Courtier is neither a biography nor a conventional history of science. In the court of the Medicis and the Vatican, Galileo fashioned both his career and his science to the demands of patronage and its complex systems of wealth, power, and prestige. Biagioli argues that Galileo's courtly role was integral to his science—the questions he chose to examine, his methods, even his conclusions.
Galileo, Courtier is a fascinating cultural and social history of science highlighting the workings of power, patronage, and credibility in the development of science.
In the court of the Medicis and the Vatican, Galileo fashioned both his career and his science to the demands of patronage and to its complex systems of wealth, power, and prestige. Now, Mario Biagioli shows how Galileo's courtly role was integral to his science--the questions he examined, his methods, and even his conclusions.
| List of Illustrations | ||
| Acknowledgments | ||
| Prologue: Court Culture and the Legitimation of Science | 1 | |
| 1 | Galileo's Self-fashioning | 11 |
| 2 | Discoveries and Etiquette | 103 |
| 3 | Anatomy of a Court Dispute | 159 |
| 4 | The Anthropology of Incommensurability | 211 |
| Intermezzo | Roma Theatrum Mundi | 245 |
| 5 | Courtly Comets | 267 |
| 6 | Framing Galileo's Trial | 313 |
| Epilogue: From Patronage to Academies: A Hypothesis | 353 | |
| References | 363 | |
| Index | 393 |
Overview
Informed by currents in sociology, cultural anthropology, and literary theory, Galileo, Courtier is neither a biography nor a conventional history of science. In the court of the Medicis and the Vatican, Galileo fashioned both his career and his science to the demands of patronage and its complex systems of wealth, power, and prestige. Biagioli argues that Galileo's courtly role was integral to his science—the questions he chose to examine, his methods, even his conclusions.
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