Quote image editor
“In similar fashion, Bellarmine's decree of 1616, banning the teaching of Copernicanism, looks like a calculated political move, designed to secure the interests of the church. Part of the traditional idea of an opposition between the "rational scientist" and the "prejudiced opponents of science" is best captured by noting that some people do not give the highest priority to impersonal cognitive goals but to certain practical ends (sometimes personal, sometimes impersonal) and that their actions are well designed for achieving these ends.” — Philip Kitcher
In similar fashion, Bellarmine's decree of 1616, banning the teaching of Copernicanism, looks like a calculated political move, designed to secure the interests of the church. Part of the traditional idea of an opposition between the "rational scientist" and the "prejudiced opponents of science" is best captured by noting that some people do not give the highest priority to impersonal cognitive goals but to certain practical ends (sometimes personal, sometimes impersonal) and that their actions are well designed for achieving these ends.