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List of lay Catholic scientists

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"The Vitruvian Man" by Leonardo da Vinci

Thousands of Catholics, both clerics and laypersons alike, have made significant contributions to the development of science and mathematics from the Middle Ages to today. These scientists include Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Nicolas Copernicus, Louis Pasteur, Blaise Pascal, André-Marie Ampère, Gregor Mendel, Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, Pierre de Fermat, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Marin Mersenne, Alessandro Volta, Augustin-Louis Cauchy, Pierre Duhem, Jean-Baptiste Dumas, Roger Boscovich, Pierre Gassendi, and Georgius Agricola, to name a few.

Catholic scientists are considered the fathers of numerous scientific fields, including, but not limited to, modern physics, acoustics, mineralogy, modern chemistry, modern anatomy, stratigraphy, bacteriology, genetics, analytical geometry, and heliocentric cosmology.[1] Inventions from Catholic scientists include the battery, the barometer, the stethoscope, the mechanical calculator, braille, mechanical movable type printing, and the Foucault pendulum. Three electrical units are named after Catholic scientists as well: the amp, the volt, and the coulomb.

The Catholic Church has supported scientific research since the emergence of the European universities in the Middle Ages. Historian Lawrence M. Principe writes that "it is clear from the historical record that the Catholic church has been probably the largest single and longest-term patron of science in history, that many contributors to the Scientific Revolution were themselves Catholic, and that several Catholic institutions and perspectives were key influences upon the rise of modern science."[2] The field of astronomy is a prime example of the Church's commitment to science. J.L. Heilbron in his book The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories writes that "The Roman Catholic Church gave more financial aid and support to the study of astronomy for over six centuries, from the recovery of ancient learning during the late Middle Ages into the Enlightenment, than any other, and, probably, all other, institutions."[3]

Scientific support continues through the present day. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences was founded in 1936 by Pope Pius XI, with the aim of promoting the progress of the mathematical, physical and natural sciences and the study of related epistemological problems. The academy holds a membership roster of the most respected names in 20th century science, many of them Nobel laureates. Also worth noting is the Vatican Observatory, which is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See.

In his 1996 encyclical Fides et Ratio Pope John Paul II wrote that "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth."[4] Pope Benedict XVI re-emphasized the importance of reason in his famous 2006 address at Regensburg.[5] But the emphasis on reason is not a recent development in the Church's history. In the first few centuries of the Church, the Church Fathers appropriated the best of Greek Philosophy in defense of the Faith. This appropriation culminated in the 13th century writings of Thomas Aquinas, whose synthesis of faith and reason has influenced Catholic thought for eight centuries. Because of this synthesis, it should be no surprise that many historians of science trace the foundations of modern science to the 13th century. These writers include Edward Grant,[6] James Hannam,[7] and Pierre Duhem,[8] to name a few.

Yet, the Galileo affair has come to typify the Church's relationship with science, although it was an exception rather than a rule. Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman has referred to the Galileo affair as the "one stock argument"[9] against the Church. The standard treatment of Galileo as a martyr for science has been overturned by modern historians, however. In fact, his theories were celebrated by popes and churchmen alike, with members of the Jesuits personally verifying many of his observations.[10] Galileo encountered trouble when he presented heliocentrism as fact rather than theory, when he lacked the necessary proofs to overturn long-standing science.

The scientific contributions made by Catholic scientists have been extensive.

Catholic scientists

Robert Grosseteste.
Saint Albert Magnus, a pioneer of biological field research.
Galileo Galilei
Nicolaus Copernicus
René Descartes
Gregor Mendel
Pierre Gassendi
Blaise Pascal
Marin Mersenne
Louis Pasteur
André-Marie Ampère
Antoine Lavoisier
Georges Lemaitre
File:Eccles lab.jpg
John Eccles

See also

References

  1. ^ Modern physics (Galileo), acoustics (Mersenne), mineralogy (Agricola), modern chemistry (Lavoisier), modern anatomy (Vesalius), stratigraphy (Steno), bacteriology (Pasteur), genetics (Mendel), analytical geometry (Descartes), and heliocentric cosmology (Copernicus).
  2. ^ Galileo Goes to Jail: And Other Myths about Science and Religion. Ed. Ronald L. Numbers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009. (p. 102)
  3. ^ Heilbron, J.L. The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999. (p. 3)
  4. ^ Pope John Paul II. Fides Et Ratio. Boston: Pauline and Media, 1998. (Introductory matter)
  5. ^ The text of the address can be found here: Faith, Reason and the University Memories and Reflections
  6. ^ cf. Grant, Edward. The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
  7. ^ cf. Hannam, James. The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2011.
  8. ^ Duhem wrote a famous 10 volume work on science in the Middle Ages. He put particular emphasis on the Condemnations of Paris in 1277 as the origin of modern science.
  9. ^ Newman, John Henry. Apologia Pro Vita Sua. Ed. Ian T. Ker. London: Penguin, 1994. (p. 235)
  10. ^ Woods, Thomas E. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2005. (p. 69)
  11. ^ George Agricola
  12. ^ Brown, Andrew (2005). J. D. Bernal: the sage of science. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-851544-8.
  13. ^ Brown 2005, pp. 1–3
  14. ^ http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Bott.html
  15. ^ http://www.ams.org/notices/200605/fea-bott-2.pdf
  16. ^ Mateo Realdo Colombo
  17. ^ http://www.csupomona.edu/~nova/scientists/articles/cori.html
  18. ^ Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau
  19. ^ Woods, Thomas E. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2005. (p. 95-96)
  20. ^ "Peter Grünberg – Autobiography".
  21. ^ Jean-Baptiste-Julien D'Omalius Halloy
  22. ^ http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20121023.htm#head1
  23. ^ http://www.austindiocese.org/newsletter_article_view.php?id=7177
  24. ^ Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier
  25. ^ Marcello Malpighi
  26. ^ Giovanni Battista Morgagni
  27. ^ Johann Müller
  28. ^ http://www.adherents.com/people/pm/Joseph_Murray.html
  29. ^ Louis Pasteur
  30. ^ George von Peuerbach
  31. ^ Jean Picard
  32. ^ Henri Victor Regnault
  33. ^ François Vieta, Seigneur de La Bigottière
  34. ^ The Princeton Companion to Mathematics. Ed. Timothy Gowers. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. (p.770).
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