Giordano Bruno, Science, and Religious Reasons for His Execution: A Reconsideration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.26.006.22695Keywords:
Giordano Bruno, Galileo, Copernicanism, Church, infinite universe, plurality of worldsAbstract
While some researchers argue that Giordano Bruno is often thought to have been condemned for supporting Copernican astronomy, the plurality of worlds, or an infinite universe, others disagree, claiming that Bruno’s persecution was religious rather than scientific in nature. For these scholars, the official summary document of his trial demonstrates that little emphasis was placed on philosophical or scientific issues during his interrogations, while his religious mission remained central.
Consequently, the longstanding legend that Bruno was prosecuted for his bold cosmological ideas can no longer be sustained, as his crimes were fundamentally religious, regardless of his views on the structure of the cosmos.
This article argues, however, that not all of Bruno’s alleged crimes mentioned in the summary document – crimes that Bruno did not deny – were religious in nature; instead, a significant portion concerned natural philosophy, that is, science understood as the study of nature.
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