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An Epitome of Jainism mature, theory is freed from assumptions, the range of facts which the theory covers gradually widens and the originally simple mathematical form of the theory becomes at the same time more complicated and far-reaching
"We shall doubtless never succeed in understanding fully the reality which surrounds us. Now-a-da ys, we are conscious that our feeble efforts and unskilled attempts to grasp the laws of Nature become constantly outstripped by the complexity of the phenomena observed in the world of ours. As a theory develops, there may appear in it some minor flaws which may remain unnoticed in the triumphal progress of the theory, only, however, to manifest themselves more clearly and menacingly later on. Difficulties of this kind, disagreement between deductions from the theory and the results of experiment, inconsistencies and even vital contradictions which cannot be explained away by the theory--these often contain the seeds of fresh developments by making it necessary to enunciate new principles and to i the foundation of science. When a theory is frustrated in this manner the ground is prepared for a scientific revolution. This is nearly the work of one great mind. Such a revolution involves the transfer of problems to a new sphere of investigation, it forces us to consider the scientific phenomena in a different light, and it lays a fresh foundation upon which we proceed to build a new and different world of physics.”
We give below a typical example to show how the views of science change in time:
"The earth is at rest and the sun moves" was the view of Ptolemy.
"The earth moves and the sun is at rest" was the view advanced by Copernicus. Which of these two statements is correct ?
nswer, again we quot from the same work of Leopold Infeld : "The verdict of classical physics is clear and definite in favour of the second statement (i. e., the Copernican view). Is it perhaps possible, is it coceivable, that both propositions may be false ? And yet a modern physicist, listening to a discussion between supporters of the respective theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus might well be tempted to a sceptical smile. The theory of relativity has introduced a new factor into science and revealed a new aspect of phenomena. It is now known that the question of deciding between the Copernican view and that of Ptolemy is pointless and that in fact the proposition of both of them have lost their significance. Whether we say “the earth moves and the sun is at rest” or “the earth is at rest and the sun moves”, in either case we are saying something which really conveys nothing. Copernicus' great discovery is to-day reduced to the mode ment that in certain cases it is more convenient to relate the motion of heavenly bodies to the solar than to the terrestrial system".
The reader should carefully note down the latest view-point of science on this ancient puzzle. The Jaina astronomers held the Ptolemaic view with regard to the relative motion between the earth and the sun and until lately,
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