230 THE LIMITATIONS OF SCIENCE 



thoughts of men, and science has no criteria for these. 

 The man of science is thus trained to discover new 

 things. He may point out their dangers and advantages 

 but the restrictions to be placed upon their use is not 

 his affair. 



If we were to trace the growth of the idea that the 

 scientific method is our best means of obtaining in- 

 formation not only of objective facts but also of the 

 motives of human thought and character, it would re- 

 quire a detailed history of science. But without under- 

 taking so laborious a task, certain prominent factors 

 in the rise of science can be indicated. In the first 

 place we may assert that the guide of science during 

 the early and medieval periods was the Organon of 

 Aristotle. And we can also state pretty accurately 

 that the revolution in science against the Aristotelian 

 domination was accomplished under the leadership of 

 Albert of Saxony, Leonardo da Vinci, Copernicus, 

 Galileo, and Descartes. 



The aim of these revolutionists was to replace the 

 metaphysical method of Aristotle by the physical or 

 experimental method. To put the issue simply, the 

 purpose of the Aristotelian philosophers was to form 

 a comprehensive and logical system of the universe 

 as they conceived it should be, a philosophy in which 

 experimental observation and inductive reasoning 

 played but a minor role; the scientific method of the 

 new school aimed to determine the laws of a universe 



