Heroism in brecht’s play life of Galileo

Galileo is portrayed as a hero in the play's first nine scenes, for his courage to stand up against
the powerful Catholic church and his dedication and enthusiasm for his goals. One of the most
fundamental features that distinguishes Galileo as a hero is his unwavering determination and
self-confidence in proving and presenting his theories. He spent nearly his whole life proving
that his observations about the universe were correct. His findings were innovative and increased
our understanding of the universe. Despite knowing it would cost him a lot, he refused to give up
on his discoveries. This is shown when he says:

“The sum of the angles in a triangle cannot be varied to suit the Vatican’s convenience.”

He refused to ignore the changes for the sake of compromise on political and religious purposes.
Even during the plague, he says:
‘’I didn’t let the plague stop me from recording my observations.’’ It shows his great
determination to pursue his aim.

Galileo is presented as a brave and courageous individual who defied church authority to achieve
his goals. Galileo possessed great courage, as evidenced by his willingness to deal with
opposition. While the Italian church, scientists, and the entire population of the time believed
strongly in the Ptolemaic system (which placed the earth at the center of the universe), Galileo
investigated and discovered that the Copernican system of heliocentricism was the true one. The
church refused to accept his findings because that would make them appear stupid, and they
believed it was better to be wrong than to question what they called "God's creation." As,
Sagredo says

“Do you imagine the Pope will hear the truth when you tell them he’s wrong, and not just hear
that he’s wrong? Do you imagine he will merely note in his diary: January 10th, 1610-got rid of
heaven?’’

But, when the Inquisition compelled him to publicly denounce his support for Copernicus, the
courage he showed weakened. He gets imprisoned and recants his views, which demonstrates
some negative traits since he refuses to sacrifice himself for the sake of scientific truth.

Bercht believed that it was important to expose the worship of hero as social evil in any form or
manner because it functions as opium for the minds of people. According to Brecht, hero
worship makes people believe that someone else will decide their fate and fight for them to end
injustice. Galileo illustrates the absurdity and senselessness of the belief of oppressed by
destroying two of history's most venerated heroes.

Aristotle for two thousand years remained as ultimate authority on order of universe and
establishing the rigid social order based on earth centered model. Upon examination, this model
was found to be in error. The Church's attempt to perpetuate the status quo, based on the flawed
Aristotelian model of an immovable Earth-centered universe, has been exposed as a poisonous
system. Galileo reexamined other unchallenged teachings of Aristotle and proved them wrong.
Aristotle's assertions on basic concepts like buoyancy rules were proven incorrect.

‘’Galileo: What does Aristotle say?

The Little Monk: 'Discus latus platique . . .'

Galileo: Translate, translate!

The Little Monk: 'A broad and flat disc of ice is able to float on water, whereas an iron needle
sinks.'

Galileo lays the needle on the paper sheet and then gently slides it on to the water's surface. A
pause.

Galileo: What has happened?

Federzoni: The needle is floating! Holy Aristotle, they've never put him to the test!’’

Galileo challenged Aristotle's idea that the universe was centered on Earth. As a result, the belief
in a predetermined class-oriented social order based on a flawed understanding of the universe
was also incorrect. The great scientist questioned the idea that suppressing the lower classes was
justified by the Aristotelian view of the cosmos. Instead, he advocated for human equality based
on a corrected concept of the universe.

Galileo emerged as the world's new authority and hero, replacing the revered Aristotle. He was
believed to bring about an age of reason and social order by implementing his discovery of the
proper order of the universe. Indeed, Galileo was considered a beacon of hope for the suppressed
and downtrodden world.

Galileo: ‘’I say to you: he who does not know the truth is merely an idiot. But he who knows it
and calls it a lie, is a criminal.’’