Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Studies
The History and Philosophy of Science program within The School of Social and Environmental Enquiry houses research on Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Studies.
Recent Theses:
The Earliest Filtration of Arabic Science to the Latin World: Gerbert d'Aurillac and the case of Gotmar's Circle
Marco Zuccato, PhD (2005)
This thesis focuses on the tenth-century transmission of Arabic science to the West and shows through what routes such a filtration occurred. This fundamental episode in the history of western science has traditionally puzzled historians of science for various reasons. First, although several clues speak in favour of an initial filtration of Arabic science from al-Andalus to Catalonia, there is no firm manuscript evidence to corroborate this hypothesis. Second, provided that Arabic science had really filtered to Catalonia during the tenth-century, the modalities of such a filtration are as yet unknown. Third, the nature and contents of this knowledge transmission have not yet been determined with precision. Fourth, although numerous medieval sources claim that Gerbert of Aurillac (the renowned tenth-century schoolmaster of Rheims and later Pope with the name of Sylvester II) was responsible for the introduction of some elements of Arabic science to the West (in particular to France and Italy), modern scholarship has failed to find sufficient evidence to validate this claim.
In my Doctoral dissertation I seek to address each of the above-mentioned issues and offer a new historical reconstruction of the process of knowledge transmission from al- Andalus to the Latin world. In particular I distinguish and analyze two main historical phases of this transmission: (Phase A) the first filtration of Arabic astronomy from al- Andalus to Catalonia; (Phase B) the transmission of this knowledge from Catalonia to France. I show that (Phase A) does not occur thanks to Mozarabs transmitting Arabic science to the Christian monastic scriptoria (as it has generally been believed) but via political/diplomatic channels connecting Catalonia with al-Andalus and small cultural circles formed around them. Particular attention is devoted to "Gotmar's circle," one of these small cultural circles headed by the bishop of Girona (Gotmar), which included savants such as Miro Bonfill and Gerbert of Aurillac. Furthermore it is argued that the point of origin of this process of transmission is not al-Andalus but Qayrawan (Tunisia), even though al-Andalus is an important stage in this process.
This new knowledge encompasses not only writings on the use and construction of the astrolabe but also an astronomical treatise on the fabrication of demonstrational celestial spheres and an astrological work. I show that (Phase B) is realized through the scholarly activity of Gerbert of Aurillac. In fact Gerbert, in his astronomical teaching at the cathedral school of Rheims, shows familiarity with a particular celestial sphere displaying a technical element which is unknown to the Latin world but widely used in similar celestial globes of Islamic origin.
The 17th Century Catholic Church and the Plurality of Worlds
Paul Carter, Postgrad Dip (2002)
Christians have always believed in extraterrestrials: for angels, demons (and God Himself) have always populated the Christian cosmos. Yet the idea that ordinary corporeal beings might exist elsewhere has often been viewed by Christian commentators as inimical to the relationship between God and man. This idea of a "plurality of [inhabited] worlds" remained an abstract one up until the 17th century, however, so the threats it posed were subdued. But Copernicanism, and the discoveries revealed by Galileo's telescope, gave a much greater sense of plausibility to the old ieas. So a theological debate was generated, one that became a significant (though minor) component of the Scientific Revolution.
In this paper, I survey the Catholic component of this debate, sketching some of the theological problems created by extraterrestrial life.
Current Research:
Dr Gerhard Wiesenfeldt studied physics, philosophy and history of science at Hamburg University. He received his PhD for a thesis on experimental natural philosophy in 17th century universities. He has published on early modern Dutch science, the visual culture of experiments, science in popular movies, biographies of fameless scientists and romantic self-experiments. His primary research interest is currently on the different local cultures of science in the 17th and 18th centuries and their mutual interactions.
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