Rowan.Houlihan
Joined: 08 Jan 2013
Posts: 10
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 Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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I really enjoyed this reading, the sarcasm was quite funny at some points. To answer the question about the role of authorities, I think that Galileo was driving the point that we should investigate matters for ourselves. The 'authorities' talked about in this piece were wrong, from the boiling of eggs to the definition of heat. My favorite quote, which I think sums up my answer, was, "... Why should I defer such great gifts to the error of some man? Why should I believe blindly and stupidly what I wish to believe, and subject the freedom of my intellect to someone else who is just as liable to error as I am? . . . " (P55) I think that what is important is curiosity and to explore and define things for ourselves instead of being mindless and believing everything we hear.
I think the role of experience backs up what Galileo said before, so instead of trusting what hasn't been proven, experiment and experience it for yourself. With the example of the Babylonions and their supposed swinging fried eggs, Galileo says, "...if experiments are performed thousands of time at all seasons and in every place without once producing the effects mentioned by your philosophers, poets, and historians, this will mean nothing and we must believe their words rather than our own eyes?" (55) I think this gives reason to experiment. |
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