Galileo Galilei — "The senses, though they are sometimes deceived, are not always so."
The senses, though they are sometimes deceived, are not always so.
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More from Galileo Galilei
"The universe is a grand book which cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written."
"Eppur si muove! (And yet it moves!)"
"It is surely harmful to souls to make it a heresy to believe what has been proved."
"I cannot but be astonished that Sarsi should persist in trying to prove by means of witnesses something that I may see for myself at any time by means of experiment. Witnesses are examined in doubtful…"
"There are those who are so afraid of truth that they would rather deny the evidence of their own senses than admit it."
Details
Acknowledging limitations but asserting the value of sensory experience.
Date: c. 1600s
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Our senses can mislead us at times, but they aren't fundamentally unreliable. Careful, repeated observation corrects individual errors. Systematic sensory experience—not pure abstract reasoning alone—is a valid and essential path to understanding reality. We shouldn't dismiss empirical evidence just because perception occasionally fails us.
Relevance to Galileo Galilei
Galileo built his career on precise telescopic observation, discovering Jupiter's moons, lunar craters, and sunspots through disciplined sensory inquiry. Against Scholastic philosophers who distrusted the senses in favor of Aristotelian text, he insisted careful empirical observation was trustworthy. His entire method depended on rehabilitating—not abandoning—sensory evidence when rigorously applied.
The era
In the early 1600s, dominant Aristotelian and Scholastic traditions prioritized received philosophical authority over direct observation. The Catholic Church viewed Scripture as superior to empirical findings. Galileo's defense of the senses was radical: it challenged centuries of epistemological hierarchy that placed reason and revelation above experiment, helping birth the Scientific Revolution's foundational empiricist commitment.
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