It has been alleged that Galileo said those memorable words when he was released after the famous trial during which he was forced to repudiate his convictions about the earth moving around the sun. The message of Eppur si muove ("And yet it moves") was very subtle and important: despite my public deny, and the Church's proclamation on the contrary, the earth does, in fact, move around the sun and not the opposite. Galileo's words have huge epistemological importance: despite the Church's values and norms his claim was true because it was based on facts1.
This means that it seems to be important, in science, to make a distinction between facts (what is) and values or norms (what ought to be). Consider the case of the number Pi (π) which is
This means that it seems to be important, in science, to make a distinction between facts (what is) and values or norms (what ought to be). Consider the case of the number Pi (π) which is