Abstract

CASSINI, Alejandro. Galileo's Crucial Experiment: an Epistemological Analysis. Anal. filos. [online]. 2014, vol.34, n.2, pp.119-145. ISSN 1851-9636.

In his Discorsi, Galileo claims to have performed an experiment to determine whether light takes time in propagating from one place to another. In this paper I take that experiment as crucial between the rival hypotheses of finite and infinite speed of light. I contend that, in spite of Galileo's negative result, such a crucial experiment is possible, both in principle and in practice. I then argue that it employs reasonable auxiliary hypotheses. I conclude that a positive result in a Galileo-type experiment would refute the hypothesis of instantaneous propagation of light and verify the hypothesis of finite velocity. However, a negative result is always compatible with the two rivals, and consequently, the hypothesis of finite velocity is not refutable by any possible experience.

Keywords : Speed of light; Crucial experiment; Auxiliary Hypotheses; Theory-Ladenness.

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