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lemonbeam
Guest
Did the Physical Sciences emerge from a Christian intellectual milieu?
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Soutane
Guest
Absolutely.
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lemonbeam
Guest
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Soutane
Guest
I got this from google.I didn’t copy the whole thing as it is quite extensive but please feel free
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization
by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
Today is the official release date for my new book, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. From the role of the monks (they did much more than just copy manuscripts) to art and architecture, from the university to Western law, from science to charitable work, from international law to economics, the book delves into just how indebted we are as a civilization to the Catholic Church, whether we realize it or not.
By far the book’s longest chapter is “The Church and Science.” We have all heard a great deal about the Church’s alleged hostility toward science. What most people fail to realize is that historians of science have spent the past half-century drastically revising this conventional wisdom, arguing that the Church’s role in the development of Western science was far more salutary than previously thought. I am speaking not about Catholic apologists but about serious and important scholars of the history of science such as J.L. Heilbron, A.C. Crombie, David Lindberg, Edward Grant, and Thomas Goldstein.
It is all very well to point out that important scientists, like Louis Pasteur, have been Catholic. More revealing is how many priests have distinguished themselves in the sciences. It turns out, for instance, that the first person to measure the rate of acceleration of a freely falling body was Fr. Giambattista Riccioli. The man who has been called the father of Egyptology was Fr. Athanasius Kircher (also called “master of a hundred arts” for the breadth of his knowledge). Fr. Roger Boscovich, who has been described as “the greatest genius that Yugoslavia ever produced,” has often been called the father of modern atomic theory.
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ricmat
Guest
Yes. In the West, Christianity’s view of God was that He is never changing, and that he created a world based on consistent and non-whimsical laws. In the East, they had no such view of creation. So science advanced much more quickly in the West than in the East.
I think I read this in “How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization” although it may have been someplace else (sorry).
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edwest2
Guest
I suggest you have a look at The Genius of China - 3000 years of science, discovery and invention by Robert Temple.
There is a nice little chart in the back that shows what the author calls time lags between discoveries there and in the West. A few examples:
Decimal system - 14th century B.C.
The first compasses - 4th century B.C.
Manned flight with kites - 4th century B.C.
The parachute - 2nd century B.C.
As one who is blessed to have creative friends, invention and discovery do not seem to know a particular place.
Peace,
Ed
There is a nice little chart in the back that shows what the author calls time lags between discoveries there and in the West. A few examples:
Decimal system - 14th century B.C.
The first compasses - 4th century B.C.
Manned flight with kites - 4th century B.C.
The parachute - 2nd century B.C.
As one who is blessed to have creative friends, invention and discovery do not seem to know a particular place.
Peace,
Ed
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ricmat
Guest
Of course they had inventions. Even a blind cat can find a dead mouse. What they didn’t have was a reliable system to investigate things from a scientific perspective.
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PhilVaz
Guest
MP3 audio from How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
chapter 5: The Church and Science (mp3)
Phil P
chapter 5: The Church and Science (mp3)
Phil P
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