Topic > Discussion on the knowledge of heat in Galileo's "The Assayer"

In The Assayer, Galileo begins his argument by stating that Mr. Sarsi is not correct in thinking, modern philosophy must follow the beliefs of other philosophers or ''the someone else's reasoning" (Galileo,59). He believes that acquiring mathematical knowledge is necessary to understand philosophy. Galileo then proceeded to explain his position on motion and the cause of heat. He begins by pointing out the common mistake people make in their knowledge of heat. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay People think that heat is a “genuine accident or quality,” but it is not. He stated that corporeal substance is necessary: ​​the object is limited, has form, is in relation to other bodies, occupies time and space, is at rest or in motion, touches or does not touch another body. Primary qualities are different from secondary properties or our senses. Primary qualities exist independently of the presence of living beings, however the existence of living beings is critical for the survival of secondary properties because secondary properties exist only in bodies. He gave tickling as an example: "this affection belongs entirely to us and does not belong to the hand in any way" (Galileo, 60-61). Tickling is not a quality inherited from the hand that does it, because a piece of paper or a feather can cause the sensation caused by the hand. Galileo believed that our senses ''have no greater existence,'' he went on to explain how the senses relate to the elements. Touch is a movement and when a body comes into contact with a person, it produces a sensation known as touch. Meaning is material compared to others and arises from the solidity of matter, which is linked to the Earth. Some bodies endlessly dissolve into waste particles, some shed feathers, while others reas. The water-based particles evaporate, causing the tongue to encounter the taste. Fire-related particles produce an odor when heated in the air and reach the nose. Vibrations in the air create sounds. External bodies use size, shape, number, and motion to exhibit secondary properties in humans, and without them they would not exist. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Galileo did not clarify the relationship between vision and light because it is complicated and he does not have enough understanding to even explain what he knows would take a long time, so he did not go into vision. Galileo then returns to his thesis that heat is the cause of motion. He stated that heat is created by tiny corpuscles that have a particular shape and, moving at a certain speed, penetrate our body and pass through us, affection is heat. Penetration can be pleasant or unpleasant depending on «the number and speed of the particles that sting and penetrate it» (Galileo,63). It is suitable ''if it is beneficial for our insensitive vital functions'', furthermore unpleasant when it causes too much ''separation and dissolution of our substance''. Galileo stated that when fire moves in the direction in which it penetrates our body it will experience the sensation of heat. If there were no "animates and sentients" in contact with heat, it would not exist. When two things rub together, the friction generates motion, which allows a particle to break free and cause a fire by moving through the separate bodies. To summarize, heat is a secondary peculiarity that only exists because of our body's ability to interpret fire as it passes through our bodies.