In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published Revolutions of the Celestial Orbs, which put forth his revolutionary idea that the Sun was at the center of the universe, opposing the popularly accepted understanding of the geocentric universe embodied by the natural philosophy of Aristotle, the astronomy of Ptolemy and the teachings of the Church that the stationary Earth had the sun and stars revolving around it. ... Unlike the previous Pope, he held a generally positive view of the arts and science. ... In February of 1990, Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) delivered a speech at the Sapien...

• Word Count: 881
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As a result, Brecht and his family exiled themselves from the country and took up residence in Denmark, where the first version of the Life of Galileo, then called The Earth Moves, was written, not because Brecht had interest in the man or his research, but because the conflicts Galileo encountered in his lifetime could create a parallel to Brecht's modern world, which was highly influenced and controlled by the Nazis in the late 1930's. In this premiere version of the play, Brecht's Marxist views allow him to outline themes of control, the good for all humanity, freedom of e...

• Word Count: 2841
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate