Quest-The Journal of UGC-HRDC Nainital

‘Truth is the child of time, not of authority’.

-Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht

Galileo is not remembered as a physicist alone; in mankind's history, he stands for the struggle against centres of power and for the freedom of inquiry. Brecht is a playwright well-known for his work in epic theatre, where the purpose of a play is not the imitation of reality but to present ideas. This paper studies how in Life of Galileo Brecht depicts the conflict between a new age about to dawn and an older way of life. Galileo embodies the spirit of the new age of science while the scientific community of his time and the Roman Catholic Church represent the earlier period. The question is one of authority and power; the established centres refuse to accept a novel way of thought, which they find threatening. Truth is often sidelined in such power struggles. New Historicism and Michel Foucault's concepts of power, freedom, government and episteme are employed to analyse the narrative of the play. Those in power have control over interpretation. Galileo states that the natural world is interpreted by men of science in attempts to understand it; similarly, the word of God-the Bible — is also interpreted by theologians. No interpretation can be final as time reveals new truths and facts. What is necessary is an open mind to accept new facts and world views, both in religion as well as in science. Brecht envisages a new paradigm in scientific ethics. The scientist, those in power and the theologian have to accept the responsibility of their actions.