Was Galileo the father of the scientific method?

Depending on the context in which his achievements are assessed, Galileo can and has been hailed as the father of observational astronomy, the father of modern physics, the father of the scientific method, or, as Albert Einstein famously noted, “the father of modern science. read more

Galileo and the Scientific Method The title page of the Siderius Nuncius (Starry Messenger) of Galileo (1564-1642), published in 1610 (Public Domain) However, as much as we remember Galileo for his work on moving objects, kinematics, his greatest contribution was in how scientists approached science, subtly changing the underlying philosophy and overall aims of scientific research. read more

Galileo’s overarching contribution to modern science was his systematic development, implementation, and description of a scientific method predicated on evidence-based research. This he laid out most cogently and categorically in two books: 1623’s Il Saggiatore (The Assayer), and the Two New Sciences discourse published in 1638. read more

Because Galileo saw this, and particularly because he drummed it into the scientific world, he is the father of modern physics — indeed, of modern science altogether. [emphasis added] — Albert Einstein,"On the Method of Theoretical Physics", in Essays in Science (Dover, 2009 [1934]), pp. 12-21. read more