“Whereas men had traditionally looked to Heaven to find authority, purpose, and meaning, the Sleepwalkers (As Arthur Koestler called Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo) looked not to Heaven but to the heavens. There they found only mathematical equations and geometric patterns. They did so with courage but not without misgivings, for they did their best to keep their faith, and they did not turn away from God. They believed in a God who had planned and designed the whole of creation, a God who was a master mathematician.” (Postman, 34)
Literally- Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo were the three men who did not look to God for answers about the world around them but questioned everything and looked for answers themselves. Even though they looked at mathematical equations and questioned how the earth was formed, they did not stray away from their faith or stop believing in God. Nonetheless, they were constantly judged based on their theories and were questioned about their faith. They believed that God himself was a great mathematician who composed the earth like a complex math problem waiting to be solved.
Intellectually- This passage makes me think that the three philosophers were very tough in challenging what the Church told them was right and true. Instead of following and going along with whatever everybody else told them, they went ahead and looked for their own answers. They set a new standard for discovery by going above and beyond to figure out what everything meant and how it was happening. Even though many disagreed with their ideas about how certain things on earth came about, these theorists still worked hard to get their ideas acknowledged, and later revolutionized our way of thinking.
Emotionally- This passage makes me feel proud that we had such great thinkers who did not give up on changing how we see the world. No matter how many times they were told they were wrong by the church or were made fun of by other individuals, they kept stating how they really felt. I am glad that they kept exploring, questioning, and testing their theories because if they had not, then we would not be at the point we are today. Thanks to these philosophers, we have come so far in how we perceive the world we live in.
Interesting post. Well said. Well written.