87

Despite the approximation of translating spurius by false, the issue of true and false suns lies at the heart of the emergence of the experimental method, of which Gassendi was one of the main protagonists. The first astronomer to observe the transit of Mercury across the Sun, he established his position in the republic of letters and his conception of the truth underlying the experimental method : appearance and reality are not in fact opposed ; perception is the first step in the route to knowledge ; all earlier theories are integrated in the search for truth. Although the Sun is not central to his theory of knowledge, it takes on a central role surprisingly in the elaboration of his philosophical style.