The Life Of Galileo Galilei: With Illustrations Of The Advancement Of Experimental Philosophy (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt From The Life Of Galileo Galilei: With Illustrations Of The Advancement Of Experimental Philosophy The Knowledge Which We At Present Possess Of The Phenomena Of Nature And Of Their Connection Has Not By Any Means Been Regularly Progressive, As We Might Have Expected, From The Time When They First Drew The Attention Of Mankind. Without Entering Into The Question Touching The Scienti C Acquire Ments Of Eastern Nations At A Remote Period, It Is Certain That Some Among The Early Greeks Were In Possession Of Several Truths, However Acquired, Con Nected With The Economy Of The Universe, Which Were Afterwards Suffered To Fall Into Neglect And Oblivion. But The Phi Losophers Of The Old School Appear In General To Have Confined Themselves At The Best To Observations Very Few Traces Remain Of Their Having Instituted Expert Ments, Properly So Called. This Putting Of Nature To The Torture, As Bacon Calls It, Has Occasioned The Principal Part Of Modern Philosophical Discoveries. The Experimentalist May So Order His Exami Nation Of Nature As To Vary At Pleasure The Circumstances In Which Itis Made, Often To Discard Accidents Which Com Plicate The General Appearances, And At Once To Bring Any Theory Which He May Form To A Decisive Test. The Pro Vince Of The Mere Observer Is Necessarily Limited: The Power Of Selection Among The Phenomena To Be Presented Is In Great Measure Denied To Him, And He May Consider Himself Fortunate If They Are-Such As To Lead Him Readily To A Knowledge Of The Laws Which They Fol Low. About The Publisher Forgotten Books Publishes Hundreds Of Thousands Of Rare And Classic Books. Find More At This Book Is A Reproduction Of An Important Historical Work. Forgotten Books Uses State-Of-The-Art Technology To Digitally Reconstruct The Work, Preserving The Original Format Whilst Repairing Imperfections Present In The Aged Copy. In Rare Cases, An Imperfection In The Original, Such As A Blemish Or Missing Page, May Be Replicated In Our Edition. We Do, However, Repair The Vast Majority Of Imperfections Successfully; Any Imperfections That Remain Are Intentionally Left To Preserve The State Of Such Historical Works.