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Form a Scientific Academy



ARISTOTELIAN LOGIC
The great philosopher Aristotle lived from 384-322 B.C., two centuries before Galileo. Yet Aristotle’s teaching about natural science, or physics as it was called in Greek, still dominated the world. Aristotle formed his scientific principles on philosophical logic. This logic wasn’t based on experiments as we know today. Instead, it was based solely on philosophical reasoning. Aristotle’s logic said such things that if all men were mortal and Socrates was a man, then Socrates was mortal.

Aristotelian logic in the field of science remained intact throughout the amazing advancements in knowledge achieved during the Renaissance. In the Thirteenth Century, St. Thomas Aquinas, a priest and philosopher, studied Aristotle’s teachings in depth. As he studied, Aquinas compared Aristotle’s ideas to the Bible. He proved that most of Aristotle’s ideas supported the Scriptures and spent the rest of his life putting this proof into writing. Both Catholic and Protestant churches therefore came to support Aristotle’s philosophies as being biblically sound.

The universities during Galileo’s era continued to teach Aristotelian logic as the true understanding of the universe. Yet when Galileo was taught this age-old wisdom, he questioned its validity. Using methods of experimentation and measurement that Galileo had learned while studying Euclidean geometry, Galileo challenged the teachings of Aristotle.

Not only were scholars shocked to hear of a young student challenging one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived, they simply weren’t ready to accept new methods of studying principles of nature when logical reasoning had been the standard for hundreds of years. They considered Galileo’s experiments as childish pranks combined with heretical implications. In their eyes, to question Aristotle was to question the Bible, which was to question the Church, the ultimate authority of the day.

FORM A SCIENTIFIC ACADEMY
Galileo was invited to be the sixth member of the Lyncean Academy, or the Academy of the Lynxes. As members of this scientific academy, Galileo and the others were encouraged to make it their goal to seek knowledge and share it with people through speaking and writing.

MATERIALS
Notebooks
Pens and pencils
Round metal lids from frozen juice containers, with no sharp edges
Colorful tape
Craft glue
Ribbon
Scissors
Science and math books or magazines
Computer (optional)

Gather a small group of friends who want to learn more about the world we live in. Determine a goal for your academy. You can choose a new goal or use the same one as the Academy of the Lynxes.

Vote on a name, pick a mascot, and design a coat of arms for your group. The mascot of the Academy of the Lynxes was the Lynx. It was admired for its keen eyesight. The members of Galileo’s group wanted to see things about nature and the world that others hadn’t yet discovered. One of the reasons Galileo was invited to join the Academy was because its members were thrilled with how Galileo dared to look into the heavens, record observations about things that had never been seen before, and invite others to look through his telescope to see the wonders he’d found.

A pendant was designed with the picture of a lynx. You can design pendants for your group by drawing your mascot on paper. Trace a picture for each member and glue the picture on the metal lids. Finish off the edges of the lids with colorful tape. Glue a ribbon to each lid so the pendants can be worn.

When your scientific academy meets, talk about subjects that interest you. Discuss everyday phenomena such as gravity and air pressure, or unusual mysteries such as black holes and the mass of light. Examine imperfect concepts commonly accepted by our world such as a 24-hour day and the Gregorian calendar with its leap year. Brainstorm new ways of doing things such as operating on a metric clock based on a 10-hour day.

Keep a collection of scientific and mathematical books or magazines handy for reference. Many libraries have used book sales where you can purchase textbooks or reference books at an inexpensive price.

Take notes in your notebooks as you talk with your group. Don’t be afraid to write down any ideas you have on a subject, no matter how outlandish it seems. Remember that when Galileo conducted his experiments on falling objects, he was ridiculed for his theory that all objects fall at the same speed in a vacuum, regardless of their weight. Yet nearly four hundred years later, in 1971, astronaut David R. Scott of the Apollo 15 stood on the moon and dropped a feather and a hammer. They fell simultaneously to the surface, proving Galileo was right.

If you choose to publish your thoughts, findings, and experimental documentation, the Internet is an efficient way to reach a lot of people. Be sure to list the sources of information you used for your research.