The Science and Myth of Galileo between the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Centuries in Europe by Massimo Bucciantini

Abstract

This volume contains the proceedings of an international conference held in Florence at the Museo Galileo, 29–31 January 2020. There are 31 essays, including the editor’s preface. Although the subtitle indicates that the conference was “international”, the vast majority of essays are by Italian scholars. This puzzling fact is not just an item of information concerning the statistics of the volume but is important in that it may help the reader contextualize the overarching ideological and political project that gave birth to the conference. It was, in fact, a collaborative undertaking shared by five Italian universities and the Museo Galileo, which was sponsored by the Italian government (defined as a Progetto di ricerca di interesse nazionale [viii]). In the remainder of the review, I will selectively discuss some of questions raised by the essays and highlight what I see as the major strengths and weaknesses of this collective volume. I am a historian and philosopher of science. Hence, my review will be concerned mostly with historical and philosophical aspects of the science and myth of Galileo.