Giordano Bruno
Why did the Inquisition condemn him to die?
In 1600, the famous philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned alive after the Roman Inquisition judged him guilty of heresy. His death became a longstanding mystery. What were his crimes, his heresies?
The Inquisition's proceedings were secret, and so, for more than 400 years, writers speculated. They conjectured that the cause was not his semi-Copernican cosmology.
Yet many authoritative experts denied it, including historians of Bruno such as Frances Yates and Leen Spruit, and, experts on the history of ideas about extraterrestrial life, like Steven J. Dick and Michael J. Crowe, and even, The Catholic Encyclopedia, and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
The denial that Bruno was killed for his semi-Copernican cosmological statements was a recurrent part of historians' denial that there was a conflict between science and religion.
To the contrary, I discovered that the main reason why the Roman Inquisition condemned Bruno was because of his cosmology.
Giordano Bruno was condemned for his statements about many worlds: that the stars are suns, innumerably many, surrounded by planetary worlds, possibly like the Earth, even inhabited by alien beings.
Burned Alive: Giordano Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition
(London: Reaktion Books, 2018), 348 pp., distributed by University of Chicago Press
http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/B/bo28433424.html
“Giordano Bruno and the Heresy of Many Worlds”
Annals of Science 73, No. 4 (October 2016), 345-374.
“Lies & Truth in the History of Science”
Harris Distinguished Lecture: California Institute of Technology, February 27, 2020.
“Ten Censured Propositions in Giordano Bruno’s Books”
Bruniana & Campanelliana 22, No. 2 (Fall 2016), 27-42.
“The Crimes of Giordano Bruno”
Burned Alive: Giordano Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition (London: Reaktion Books; distr. University of Chicago Press, 2018), 14-99.
“Why did the Catholic Church really condemn Giordano Bruno?”
Dialog: Theologie & Naturwissenschaften, February 2019
https://www.theologie-naturwissenschaften.de/startseite/leitartikelarchiv/giordano-bruno/
Translated into German: https://www.theologie-naturwissenschaften.de/startseite/leitartikelarchiv/giordano-bruno-deutsch/
“Was Giordano Bruno Burned at the Stake for Believing in Exoplanets?”
Scientific American, March 19, 2018: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/was-giordano-bruno-burned-at-the-stake-for-believing-in-exoplanets/
“Bellarmine and the Enemies of Bruno”
Burned Alive: Giordano Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition (London: Reaktion Books; distr. University of Chicago Press, 2018), 123-60.
“Giordano Bruno and the Spirit that Moves the Earth”
Not Even Past, March 8, 2017
https://notevenpast.org/giordano-bruno-and-the-spirit-that-moves-the-earth/
“Galileo and Giordano Bruno”
All About History Magazine (UK),
interview by Emily Staniforth, June 2023.
“CHSTM Podcast: Burned Alive: Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition”
Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, September 2021, https://www.chstm.org/content/alberto-mart%C3%ADnez-%E2%80%94-burned-alive-bruno-galileo-and-inquisition; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iB3eQcw7Cg
“Radical Cosmology”
SETI Institute, Big Picture Science, February 18, 2019
http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/radical-cosmology
“Galileo and Giordano Bruno: Philosophers on Trial for Heresies”
University of Colorado at Boulder, November 1, 2019.
“Burned Alive: Giordano Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition”
IHS Book Talk, Institute for Historical Studies, UT Austin, October 17, 2019
“Giordano Bruno, Galileo, and the Moving Earth”
Center for Inquiry, Austin, TX, April 16, 2018.
“Giordano Bruno, Galileo, and the Cosmology of Many Worlds”
Physics Colloquium for Students and Faculty, UT Austin, John A. Wheeler Lecture Hall, March 28, 2018.
“Bruno, Galileo and the Heresy of the Soul of the World”
History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, November 11, 2017.
“Giordano Bruno: Suns, Exoplanets, and the Catholic Inquisition”
Physics Department, Baylor University, March 29, 2017.
“Roasted and Broiled Alive: The Inquisition, Bruno, Galileo, and the Spirit that Moves the Earth”
Institute for Historical Studies, UT Austin, February 6, 2017
“The Heresies of Bruno and Galileo”
History of Science Society, Annual Conference, San Francisco, November 19, 2015.
“The Catholic Inquisition versus Giordano Bruno”
Center for Inquiry-Austin, “Food for Thought,” Trinity UMC, November 16, 2015.
“From Bruno to Galileo: The Heresy of Many Worlds”
12th Biennial Conference on the History of Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, June 25, 2015.
“Bruno, Galileo, Einstein: The Value of Myths”
American Physical Society Annual Conference, San Antonio, March 2, 2015.
“Galileo, Giordano Bruno and Science during the Inquisition”
Houston Community College Alief Hayes Campus, October 14, 2014.
“Galileo, Giordano Bruno and Science during the Inquisition”
Houston Community College Katy Campus, Pandora’s Box series, October 14, 2014
“Why did the Roman Inquisition Kill Giordano Bruno?”
History and Philosophy of Science, Friday Talks, UT Austin, October 25, 2013. http://youtu.be/i7lqEa_e6CE
REVIEWS
"Martínez shows that it’s possible to construct a fully consistent system of arithmetic in which minus times minus makes minus. It’s a wonderful vindication...”
JAKE RANDELL
AMERICAN SCIENTIST
"Martínez can certainly take credit for having produced by far the best and most detailed account of this important strand in Einstein's early work.”
JÜRGEN RENN
MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE
“An essential text for any future reserarch on Bruno, Galileo and The Inquisition. ...possibly the most important book of the year for the history of astronomy.”
CLIFFORD CUNNINGHAM
ASTRONOMICAL HISTORY
BOOKS
BIO
Alberto Martinez is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a professor at UT Austin, he investigates the history of science, especially Einstein and relativity theory, history of math, historical myths, and Giordano Bruno and Galileo. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
He also researches myths in political news media, The Eyes of Texas, and episodes in the history of money and corruption.
Now, he's finishing writing a novel about Albert Einstein.