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Dialogues
Concerning Two New Sciences.
"SALVIATI. . . . unity is the only
infinite number."1a
"SALVIATI.
. . . I came to the conclusion that in a medium totally devoid
of resistance all bodies would fall with the same speed.
"SIMPLICIO.
This is a remarkable statement, Salviati. But I shall never
believe that even in a vacuum, if motion in such a place were
possible, a lock of wood and a bit of lead can fall with the same
velocity."1b
"SAGREDO. . . . [M]any
other of your views are so far removed from the commonly accepted
opinions and doctrines that if you were to publish them you would
stir up a large number of antagonists; for human nature is such
that men do not look with favor upon discoveries--either
of truth or fallacy--in their own field, when made by others than
themselves."1c
"SAGREDO.
. . . Must we not confess that geometry is the most
powerful of all instruments for sharpening the wit and
training the mind to think correctly? Was not Plato
perfectly right when he wished that his pupils should be first of
all well grounded in mathematics? . . .
"SIMPLICIO. Indeed I begin to understand
that while logic is an excellent guide in discourse, it does not,
as regards stimulation to discovery, compare with the power of
sharp distinction which belongs to geometry.
"SAGREDO. Logic, it
appears to me, teaches us how to test the conclusiveness of
any argument or demonstration already discovered and
completed; but I do not believe that it teaches us to discover
correct arguments and demonstrations. . .
"1d
HUSSERL
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