On 2/5/2017 12:38 PM, Edwina Taborsky wrote:
that knowledge is derived from the evidence of the senses, is as old
as Aristotle - who espoused just that [along with the use of reason].
But as a societal force, with its insistence that the individual and
that individual's direct contact with the world, is the source of
knowledge - that emerged, in my view, from at least the 13th century
I agree, but I'd add that the rediscovery of Aristotle in the 13th c
led to revolutionary innovations in logic and science.
Before the 12th c translations of Aristotle from Arabic to Latin,
Plato and Neoplatonism had the strongest influence on the Greek
Church Fathers -- and through them -- the Latins.
At the beginning of the 13th c, the translations of Aristotle
were denounced by theologians who had a vested interest in Plato.
The fact that they were translated from Arabic sources also raised
suspicions of heresy. But scientists such as Roger Bacon were
inspired by the science, and Thomas Aquinas made Aristotle safe
for Christianity.
As an interesting history of the upsurge in observation and
measurement in the 13th c and later, I suggest
Crosby, Alfred W. (1997) The Measure of Reality: Quantification
and Western Society, 1250-1600, Cambridge University Press.
Sample factoid: In 1275, there were no mechanical clocks in Europe.
By 1300, every town of any size had a church with a clock tower,
and neighboring towns were competing with each other in building
the most elaborate clocks. The European emphasis on measuring time
is a major difference between European civilizations and traditional
societies everywhere else. And it started in the 13th c.
Although Aristotle didn't say much about music or money, the
emphasis on logical notation and measurement also inspired the
development of modern musical notation, bookkeeping, and banking.
John
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