Philosophical Underpinnings of 20th Century Galilean Scholarship: How Metaphysics Shapes our Understanding of Modern Science

现代科学始于伽利略与中世纪和神学迷信的英勇决裂--或者说我们中的许多人是这样被告知的。这一传统叙事受到了20世纪学者的批判性审视。然而，他们的详细研究得出了关于伽利略的截然不同的结论。一些人确认了传统的叙述，强调伽利略的实验工作。其他人则认为，伽利略的“物理学”描述了一个非经验性的数学领域。第三组描述他基本上没有原创性，沉浸在他同时代的争议中。谁是对的？我的假设是，这些不同的评估可以追溯到提出这些评估的历史学家之间的根本哲学差异。

Modern science started with Galileo's heroic break with medieval and theological superstition - or so many of us were told. This traditional narrative was subjected to critical scrutiny by 20th century scholars. Yet their detailed studies led to strikingly different conclusions about Galileo. Some confirmed the traditional narrative, emphasising Galileo's experimental work. Others argued that Galileo's 'physics' described a non-empirical, mathematical realm. A third group described him as largely unoriginal, a figure immersed in his contemporary controversies. Who is right? My hypothesis is that these different assessments can be traced to fundamental philosophical differences among the historians who advance them.