Galileo pioneered the scientific method through observation and reason.

Evidence

Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science. His renowned conflict with the Catholic Church was central to his philosophy, for Galileo was one of the first to argue that man could hope to understand how the world works, and, moreover, that we could do this by observing the real world. — Hawking, Stephen, A Brief History of Time, 349

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hawking, Stephen, A Brief History of Time, 349
• XREF: connects to: Galileo’s observations challenged the Earth-centered universe model. — Hawking, Stephen, A Brief History of Time, 18

Broader Connections

• Galileo’s observations challenged the Earth-centered universe model. #expands (0.70) — Hawking, Stephen, A Brief History of Time, 18