Galileo perceptionist

The present paper focuses on Galileo's conception of perception. I take as my starting point the interpretation of the Galilean text by Piccolino and Wade (2008, Perception 37 1312-1340): Galileo's eye: a new vision of the senses in the work of Galileo Galilei. Three points are discussed: the criticism of naive realism, the theoretical role of perceptual laws, and the distinction between different qualities of experience. The conclusions support an alternative interpretation which underscores the crucial role of phenomenology of perception in Galileo's epistemology.