Galileos Sense Experience Essay Example for Free

Galileos Sense Experience Essay How much can our senses truthfully tell us about the world around us? A person’s five senses provide us with observational information that help us day after day. According to Galileo Galilei, sense experience is misleading in understanding how the world works. In his book On The World Systems, Galileo expresses his view on the senses through the character Salviati, who is introduced by the translator, Finocchiaro, as â€Å"an expert who takes the Copernican side† (Finocchiaro, 4). Salviati is able to prove, even with opposition from the Aristotelian named Simplicio, that sense experience is unreliable in Galileo’s scientific method on the relativity of motion. On the second day of their debate, Simplicio tries to refute the Copernican view that the senses are deceptive. Simplicio states that â€Å"according to the view of all philosophical schools, this criterion requires that the senses and experience be our guides in philosophizing† (Finocchiaro, 212). In response to this, Salviati asks Simplicio to think of a stone falling from a tower and asks him to state how he perceives the motion. Simplicio responds that he â€Å"notices its descent in relation to the tower, for I now see it next to this mark on the tower, then a little below that, and so on until I perceive it land on the ground† (Finocchiaro 213). They come up with the conclusion that, since their eyes would move for a falling rock, it is indeed in motion, while a still rock would not be in motion because they would never have to move their eyes. In this case, their senses show them what is truly happening. However, Simplicio has a different situation to address. To present a more difficult scenario than the last, Salviati tells Simplicio to imagine being on a moving ship and to fix his eyes on the tip of the sail. Simplicio agrees with Salviati that, while he is on the ship, his eyes remain fixed on the tip of the sail â€Å"regardless of any motion by the ship† (Finocchiaro, 214). According to Simplicio’s senses, the tip of the sail is in no motion. Since it has already been stated that the ship is moving, Simplicio’s senses are deceiving him greatly. Salviati explains this phenomenon by telling Simplicio that â€Å"this happens because the motion transmitted by the ship to the sail yard is also transmitted to you and your eyes, so that you need not move them at all in order to keep aiming at the tip of the sail yard; consequently, it appears motionless to you† (Finocchiaro, 214). Thus, the senses are confusing. You can compare this idea to the Earth itself. Although when we are on the Earth our senses make it appear to be fixed and immovable, in relation to other bodies in the universe, the Earth is moving. Salviati begins to look at the greater picture of the universe. He first suggests other ways Salviati could figure out that the ship is in motion such as looking at trees and buildings on the shore but says â€Å"to convince yourself of the earth’s motion by means of such an observation, I would say you should look at the stars which, because of [the observation], appear to move in the opposite direction† (Finocchiaro 218). Salviati believes that looking at the stars is essential in understanding that the Earth moves. The stars appear to us to move but really the Earth’s motion is moving on its axis. Sagredo, who has been quiet most of the debate, suggests the moon as another similar phenomenon to the ones discussed. Sagredo wisely states that â€Å"those who are walking on a street at night, it looks as if they are being followed by the moon at a pace equal to theirs†¦this is an appearance that very obviously would deceive the sense of sight† (Finocchiaro 219). Although it appears the moon is walking next to us at night, it is in it’s own motion around the Earth. The sense of sight is just as deceiving when viewing celestial bodies. In the book, On The World Systems Galileo proves to us that our senses are one of the most unreliable components in observation. He shows us that we need to be careful with our observations whether they consist of rocks, ships, or stars. In his closing statement about relativity of motion and the senses, Salviati concludes that â€Å"we ought to be more careful and less confident in regard to what at first sight is presented to us by our senses, and that they can easily deceive us† (Finocchiaro 218). Sense experience is a faulty part of Galileo’s scientific method. Any inconsistency in sense experience can create inaccurate hypotheses about experiments and observations. Galileo uses On The World Systems to refute the Aristotelian view that the senses are our primary resources in philosophizing. In fact, our senses tell us very little about philosophy at all.