Richard C. Dales

743 Words3 Pages
In his introduction to Richard C. Dales’ The Scientific Achievement of the Middle Ages, Edward Peters explores and compares the concept of knowledge in Western Europe before and after the twelfth century. He discusses how this part of the world was slower in obtaining knowledge, particularly scientific knowledge, than were the Greeks and Arabs. He draws upon English scholar Adelard of Bath, and points out that he had to travel around the world, from Italy, to Greece, to Spain, to Syria, and to Palestine, to learn about the logic, technology, and other knowledge systems he so lacked at home in England (Dales, 1-2). Traveling scholars like Adelard brought back their new knowledge to Western Europe, providing the tools to spread information that…show more content…
I imagine that Western Europe may have feared new knowledge because it was unknown and could provoke unpredictable change, but this concern was overridden once the new knowledge came to be understood. Peters explains that a monk named Gerbert traveled throughout Europe to gain skills and knowledge that he could not obtain at home. When he returned home with his new information, many suspected he was a magician because his lessons were abnormal and, therefore, questionable (4). This negativity towards magic is reminiscent of how, theologically, magic was often associated with the devil. Nevertheless, Gerbert was made pope in 999 (4). He may have had negative connotations in the eyes of some, but such a reputation did not hold him back in a religious context. Christians accepted the new knowledge and embraced it in Western…show more content…
Therefore, the importance of logic grew, and many living in Western Europe took to this idea and questioned the way the world worked from that perspective. I feel that this interest in logic was a catalyst that provoked post-twelfth century studies and sciences. In the seventeenth century, mathematical probability theory began to spread. Interestingly enough, some of the earliest examples of this concept being put to use were in testing “the degree of veracity in the Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus” (23). This example demonstrates Western Europe was not intentionally hindered by Christianity, but needed exposure to information to comprehend it. Once it obtained such insight, Western Europe accepted it in full throttle, and even applied it to Christianity to make more sense of the world that they previously only knew through a theological
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