What Does ‘φ-Scientificity’ Mean? I. Models and Measurement: Galileo

Abstract

Rein Vihalemm has defined the concept of φ-sciences primarily through scientific models, while emphasising that they are empirical sciences. His specification of such sciences includes references to Galileo, Kant, and Heidegger, but lacks in detail and, most notably, fails to explicate how the models of these sciences are linked to the material world they aim to describe. I first analyse Galileo’s theoretical proceedings in terms of preplanning, the essence of phaenomena, and mathematicity, which can either explicitly or implicitly be viewed as important characteristics of φ-sciences, acknowledged by Vihalemm. Based on this new clarification and additional sources, I will then explore φ-scientific measurement as the link between models and matter and discuss whether Galileo’s own measurements can be regarded as such.