Galileo, Courtier - (Science and Its Conceptual Foundations) by Mario Biagioli (Paperback)

About the Book

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.

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

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. In this fascinating cultural and social history of science, Biagioli argues that Galileo's courtly role was integral to his science - the questions he chose to examine, his methods, even his conclusions.