Galileo’s Physics and the Scientific Revolution
Galileo’s Contributions to Physics
Galileo’s key contributions, including the pendulum swing, uniform motion, motion-free drop-moving projectiles, and the principle of Galilean relativity, revolutionized physics. These findings challenged Aristotelian physics by demonstrating:
- The fallacy of distinguishing between heavy and light bodies; all bodies possess gravity.
- Gravity’s independence from the nature of the body, instead relating to its position relative to other bodies.
- Movement and rest as states, not inherent properties of bodies.
- The inadequacy of the distinction between natural and violent movements.
The Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution of the Renaissance challenged the idea of perfect and imperfect movements. Key aspects of this revolution include:
- Movement needing no continuous driver or cause.
- The speed of free-falling bodies depending on time, not weight.
Transforming Western Society
Modern science’s contributions transformed Western society, particularly in knowledge:
A New Vision of the Universe
Aristotle’s closed, geocentric cosmos was replaced by a mechanistic universe explained by matter in motion. Metaphysical concepts of nature were replaced by physical forces.
A New Scientific Methodology
This methodology became a model for scientists and philosophers, influencing rationalists and empiricists.
Budgets for Future Science
- Rationalism: Reality’s structure aligns with reason, not sensory perception.
- Mathematicism: Reality and the mind are mathematical; correct reasoning is mathematically infallible.
- Phenomenon: Science studies how phenomena occur, focusing on quantifiable aspects.
- Simplicity: Nature operates simply; simpler explanations are preferred.
Changing the Notion of Cause
Ancient and medieval philosophers viewed cause and effect ontologically. The Renaissance and early modern period shifted this view. Galileo’s notion of cause explains measurable variations and displacements, not the ontological nature of change. This mechanistic conception focuses on efficient cause, describing events leading to an effect.
The Resolutive-Compositive Method
Galileo systematized the resolutive-compositive (analysis and synthesis) method, based on principles like:
- Rejecting authority.
- Nature’s simplicity.
- Explaining nature through mathematics.
- Focusing on observable, measurable phenomena.
- The necessity of experiments.
Structure of the Method
- Resolution: Analyzing a phenomenon, reducing it to essential, quantifiable (primary) properties.
- Composition: Formulating a mathematical hypothesis, deducing testable consequences.
- Experimental Test: Verifying the hypothesis through experiments.
This method emphasizes mental models and mathematical explanations. Even if an experiment disproves a hypothesis, the mathematical explanation remains valid until further experimentation. Reason is prioritized over experience and traditional authority.