The Middle Ages
Key Developments
• Return of ancient knowledge via Spain and
Sicily
• Eastern Technological Innovations
• Independent Inventions in Europe
• Theology and the Unique Nature of Western
Monotheism
Return of ancient knowledge via
Spain and Sicily.
 Almagest of Ptolemy, 1100 via Spain.
 Gerard of Cremona (1114-1187). Seventy
translations including Avicenna's medical
encyclopedia.
 Arabic (actually Hindu) numerals.
 Astrolabe appeared in Moslem world ca.
800, Europe 1200.
 Six translations of Euclid by 1200.
Eastern Technological Innovations
 Paper from China to Europe by 1200.
 Trebuchet (counterweight catapult) from
China ca. 1100.
 Compass appears in Europe ca. 1200.
 Windmills from near East ca. 1100.
 Gunpowder via Mongols ca. 1240.
 Possibly the concept of clock escapement
mechanisms.
Independent Inventions in Europe
 Mechanical clocks, 1300’s.
 Linen
 Windmills
 Full exploitation of water power
Why Did Clocks Appear in Europe?
• In a world that never changes, time doesn’t
matter
• If time doesn’t belong to you, there is no
point in tracking it
• Autonomous people have agendas - places
to go, people to see, things to do
• Clocks intimately connected to Western
concepts of individuality
What is the Role of Religion in
History?
What Role Did Religion Play In:
• The U.S. Civil Rights movement?
• The Collapse of Communism?
• Ethnic Cleansing in the Balkans?
The Major Misconception About
Religion
• No Major Religion considers its doctrines
beliefs
• Every Major Religion considers its doctrines to
be objective facts
– To a Christian fundamentalist, the Deluge is a
documented historical fact
– No Muslim considers it a matter of opinion
whether Mohammed received messages from
God
What Religion Can and Cannot Do
•
•
•
•
Individuals vary in commitment and priorities
Religion can motivate people to high ideals
Religion can serve to rationalize other motives
Religion can provide a template for organizing
thought
• Religion can serve as a symbol of group identity
• Religion has little power to erase deeply-ingrained
cultural traits
• Religion has no power over biology
– Can make people feel guilty about sex
– Cannot stop people from having sex
The Unique Nature of Western
Monotheism
• Judaeo-Christian god is the creator of the
Universe, but still active in it
• Judaeo-Christian god is transcendent:
unlimited in scope or powers.
Active Creator
• Greco-Roman mythology: Zeus (Jupiter) is
the chief of the gods
• Zeus’ father is Cronos (Saturn)
• Cronos’ father was Uranus (Heaven), his
mother Gaia (Earth)
• The Classical creator gods are not active
• The Judaeo-Christian god is creator, but
also still active
Judgment of Paris, Rubens, 1632-35
Transcendent
• Classical gods are limited
– Can be deceived, tricked or caught unaware
– Can be bargained with
– Morally flawed (in no position to make moral
demands)
• Judaeo-Christian god is unlimited
– Cannot be deceived, tricked or surprised
– Does not bargain
– Is morally perfect
Consequences of Western
Monotheism
• Nature is not micromanaged by
supernatural forces.
• There exist laws that are absolute and
invariable
• There is one correct theology (philosophy,
ideology, way to do things, etc.) Western
culture tends to see things in black and
white
Opposition to Magic
From the work of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget,
we know that human beings have a fundamentally
egocentric conception of the world. Growing up in
modern society means learning to accept the
existence of an external world separate from oneself.
It is hard. Most of humankind, for most of its history,
never learned to distinguish the internal world of
thoughts and feelings with the external world of
objects and events. ... Cutting this connection, which is
necessary before science can develop, goes against the
grain of human nature.
– Alan Cromer in Uncommon sense: the heretical
nature of science (1993)
Bad Programming
• I Cry, Mom Feeds Me
• What really happens: Cry triggers Mom’s
nurturing instinct
• What gets programmed: I want something
and the universe supplies what I want
• We have a word for this: Magic
The Magical Mind
• Religion asks: How can I conform to God?
• Science asks: How can I conform to the way
the world works?
• Magic asks: How can I get God and the world
to conform to me?
Why Magic?
• Offers Hope; Never Need to Take No for an
Answer
• It’s Easy
• Feeds Fantasies of Omnipotence
• Feeds Fantasies of Being in the Know
21st Century Magic
• Conspiracies
• The Magic Money Pot
• Free Stuff
– Because I deserve it
• Magical Religion
– Propitiation
– Consolation
– Permission
• Evidence Manipulation
The Fall
The Fall: Adam and Eve expelled from Eden
for disobedience
• Good and evil are not equal forces. Evil is
an aberration
• Evil can be combated and overcome
• Dark side of the force: Evil has no legitimate
place in the universe, therefore has no
rights
Time and the Fall
• In many cultures there is no real concept of
the future
• In some societies, time is cyclic
In Judaeo-Christianity, the Fall is to be
remedied by a Messiah
• Time has directionality and a very strong
future orientation
• Probably at the root of many of our beliefs
about progress
Rediscovery of Roman Law
• Justinian (c. 540) codifies Roman Law
• Gratian 1140 organizes canon law
• Bracton 1250 organizes English law
God as Ruler (Basis of laws)
+ De-Animization of nature
+ Discovery of law as a form of logic
= “Natural Law” (Francis Bacon, 1260)
Pierre Abelard, Sic et Non, 1130
• Use systematic doubt and question
everything
• Learn the difference between statements of
rational proof and those merely of
persuasion
• Be precise in use of words, and expect
precision of others
• Watch for error, even in Holy Scripture
A Substantive Argument
(Statement)
Is
(True/False)
Because
(Facts or Logical Propositions)
Abelard For Today
• No package deals
• Adjectives, Labels and Emotional Responses
are not Substantive Arguments
• Labels may not be accurate or relevant
• Wishing doesn’t make it so
• Conflicting with an ideology doesn’t make it
false
When New Collides With Old
• You can reject the new ideas. This is the
choice the Islamic world eventually made.
• You can embrace the new and abandon the
old. In extreme cases, culture shock can
result.
• You can meld the two without regard for
logical consistency: syncretism or
compartmentalization
• You can seek a consistent synthesis.
Syntheses in Western History
• Hellenistic Greek and indigenous cultures
• Greek ideas and Roman culture
• Judaism and Greek culture in early
Christianity
• Augustine’s fusion of Platonism and
Christianity
• Irish melding of Celtic culture, Christianity
and European learning
• Fusion of languages to create English