Friday, April 7, 2017

"The very essence of science"

"NEWTON'S greatness lies, first, in his claim that his laws of motion are universally valid and, second, that he had shown something of that universality. I mean his proof that the motion of the moon is governed by the same acceleration as is the fall of an apple or stone to earth. This coupling of the earth and of the moon was a bold step into the universe of things. It revealed in a single stroke the very essence of science, which is the universal applicability of its laws."

~Stanley L. Jaki: The Absolute Beneath the Relative and Other Essays.