The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages : Their Religious, Institutional and Intellectual Contexts (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science)

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Summary: How the Middle Ages provided one last revolution
Review: Be warned, oh reader, that Edward Grant has written a book with a purpose. This is no mere survey of medieval science; there is a thesis to defend, and defend it he has.

The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages is a tightly written examination of the central point Grant makes, namely, that Medieval scientific thought was necessary, though not sufficient, to produce the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. The image of sloth minded scholastics is put to rest here.

This does not mean, as is clear from the beginning, that modern science flows from medieval science. It is an important point. The results of medieval thinking do not, for the most part, survive into the modern era. Yet the older era is essential. Why?

Grant takes us on a detailed journey through the state of scientific thinking, more properly referred to as natural philosophy, though its relation with theology is discussed at some length. He covers the adoption of ancient Greek texts through translations starting around the high Middle Ages. There is a chapter on medieval universities. Then we get a detailed look at how Aristotelian thinking was perceived, studied, and expanded upon. This last portion suffers a bit if the book is intended for a general audience. Many terms from ancient philosophy are used without explanation. I had to think back and sometimes refer back to my history of science texts from previous course work to recall the meanings, an option that not all readers will have. A serious reader will probably also need to reread portions, as the details of Medieval natural philosophy are presented in some detail and are not always easy to follow, a fault more of the subject than of the author.

In the end of this densely written text Grant ties everything together. Since this is not a mystery, and there are no spoilers here, I'll summarize. Grant's argument is that the scientific revolution was dependent on these translations being made. They form an early step that, along with the formation of largely independent universities that provided a permanent institution for scientific thinking, allowed the Medieval scholars to learn how to ask questions. They provided a vocabulary for scholarly questioning. They mathematized many questions, and they provided the idea of doing what we would now call a thought experiment. Though many of their questions, including the mathematized ones, were about entirely academic subjects, the idea of thinking about an idealized situation mathematically is exactly the sort of mindset one needs to perform modern science. It is not the results of the era that carried through, or even the specific methods, but the general framework of consistent, and persistent, inquiry that was the actual foundation of modern science in question.