Galileo’s strategy of directing the scientist’s attention to the quantifiable properties of
matter proved extremely successful in physics, but it also exacted a heavy toll. During
the centuries after Galileo, the focus on quantities was extended from the study of matter
to all natural and social phenomena within the framework of the mechanistic worldview
of Cartesian-Newtonian science. By excluding colors, sound, taste, touch, and smell – let
alone more complex qualities, such as beauty, health, or ethical sensibility – the emphasis on
quantification prevented scientists for several centuries from understanding many essential
properties of life.
matter proved extremely successful in physics, but it also exacted a heavy toll. During
the centuries after Galileo, the focus on quantities was extended from the study of matter
to all natural and social phenomena within the framework of the mechanistic worldview
of Cartesian-Newtonian science. By excluding colors, sound, taste, touch, and smell – let
alone more complex qualities, such as beauty, health, or ethical sensibility – the emphasis on
quantification prevented scientists for several centuries from understanding many essential
properties of life.
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