The Sight Of Science :: essays research papers

The Sight of Science     It is a truth universally acknowledged that he whose mind is ahead ofhis time and above that of his peers may not be understood by his fellow peopleand be subject to critisizm and persecution. Galilei Galileo, Francis Bacon, andRene Descartes were among the front to break away from the conventional views oftheir times to find a institutionalize for science in a society and propose the way itshould be practiced. All three authors oppose on some points but differe markedlyon others. Bacon insists on the importa nce of experimentation and relativeuselessness of senses and experience, while Decartes thinks them imporatnt for sense of nature. Galileo stresses the need for separation of science andreligion, while Descartes deems the correctness of the method of scientificthought to be most important. Yet all three writers agree that natural scienceshould be freed of the grip of theology and human ethics, what sets them obscurefrom previous generations of scientists and thinkers.     In his Discoveries, Bacon goes at great length to discuss the seethe prescientfic mode of thinking has had on generations of scientists, andtries to Descartes asserts that the mathematical method of examining therelationship in the midst of objects and expressing them in concise formulas, applied tothe entire realm of knowledge, permits him to exercise his profess reason to thebest of his ability. Since nothing in philosophy is certain, it is evident thathe must discover his own philosophical principles.     Galileos views on science and religion, as seen from his Letter to theGrand Dutchess Christina are very radical for his times. He suggests that physiological sciences must be separated from theological studies because the goalsof the two disicplines are al nonpareil different theology is touch on withsalvation of the soul, while the sciences are concerned with understanding ofnature. He beli eves that the clergy apply faith where ther is none involved --one cannot undersand nature just by quoting the Scripture because the nature, afruit of perfections illimitable wisdom., defies the simple explanation mens feebleminds attempt to find in the countersign. To truly understand nature, one has applythe little of the reason that God has given to him and look "between the li nes"for the full-strength meaning of the Bible. in that location are a number interpretations one canfind because the Bible is often general and simplistic Galileo suggests thatthe best way to find the true meaning is to disprove the false conclusions byfinding contradicions in nature, as determined by accurate experiments ratherthan fervent meditation. It is a barter of scientists to examine nature and it is