The heretic Galileo Galilei atomism

Abstract

 The purpose of this article is to analyze the opposition instituted by Galileo to the prevailing Thomistic Aristotelianism in the Middle Ages and present his alternative to atomism in physics of secondary qualities. The Florentine physicist, whose concerns were restricted to the field of physics, we see involved in a complaint of religious order (the negation of "Eucharistic phenomenon") that leads to the conviction for treason, the penalty for which was the public recantation and house arrest perpetual. We will consider, based on studies of Redondi Pietro (1991), as the story of Galileo's condemnation, in fact, is not necessarily linked to the defense of the Copernican heliocentrism. Beyond the boundaries of this notion, there was all a plot woven by religious protectionism, ecclesiastical primacy, stardom and envy.