Islamic Golden Age + Medieval Europe

Question 1

When was the Golden Age of Science in the Islamic World?

Answer 1

8th-13th centuries

Question 2

Why are the terms ‘Islamic science’ or ‘Arabic science’ misleading?

Answer 2

1. not all scholars and scientists in this era were Muslim and/or Arab (Persian Muslims, Jews, Arab Christians, Nestorian Christians)
2. it is impossible to determine the personal religious beliefs of individuals - especially when there could be punishment for unbelief
3. science is universal and transcultural in its methods and conclusions - while it is always specific in historical, social, and epistemological contexts, SCIENCE is universal to human beings - there is no “Islamic Science” or “Greek science”

Question 3

What were 3 aspects of Islamic civilization that influenced the development of science?

Answer 3

1. Islamic expansion: contact with ancient learning and openness to other cultures
2. Muhammed and the Quran celebrated education and curiosity into nature
3. Islamic civilization was wealthy and united which allowed for support of a secular intellectual class and their activities

Question 4

What is secular?

Answer 4

non-religious

Question 5

How did Islamic scholars contribute to knowledge preservation and expansion?

Answer 5

they collected the fragments of surviving scrolls from the Library of Alexandria and other classical learnings from the Byzantine libraries (some Greek works) and translated them to Arabic and also commented on them and expanded on them

Question 6

What major technological advancements assisted in the expansion of Islamic science?

Answer 6

the construction of a paper-making plant in Baghdad in 794 AD

Question 7

What were the primary strengths in Islamic science?

Answer 7

math
optics
chemistry (alchemy)
medicine

Question 8

How did Islamic science differ from Greek science in terms of methods and approach?

Answer 8

Islamic science emphasized experiment stronger than Greek science

Question 9

What was alchemy?

Answer 9

partly practical, partly mystical attempt to achieve perfection (wealth and longevity) with the transmutation of base metals into pure gold

basically a precursor to chemistry

Question 10

T or F: Islamic science included alchemy

Answer 10

true

Question 11

How does the Genius and Gibberish reading refer to alchemy in relation to chemistry?

Answer 11

alchemy was aligned with Aristotle’s (and Plato’s) teleological explanation of life - that organisms have a purpose and they strive for perfection

alchemy was described in the reading as a ‘wrong turning in human knowledge,’ while it was a useful stepping stone that allowed alchemists to ask questions and make a lot of monumental discoveries about chemicals, elements, and what is now chemistry, their purpose was not this - they were striving to transmutate base metals into pure gold - into perfection

Question 12

What did alchemy give to chemistry?

Answer 12

apparatuses and glassware
distillation (wine into pure alcohol)
acetic acid into stronger acetic acid
sulphuric acid
solution and precipitation
chemical concepts - isolating elements from compounds, corrosives
analysis! and transformations

Question 13

What was Islamic biology’s major contributions to medicine?

Answer 13

Islamic biology was heavily focused on practical medicine with MANY medical writers

main contributions: medical encyclopedism and preparation and use of drugs

‘Pharmacopoeia’ and elixirs to treat ailments came out of alchemy

did not believe in demonic causes of disease

Question 14

Who was the major Islamic scientist?

Answer 14

Avicenna (Abu Sina or Ibn Sina) 980-1037 AD

Persian Muslim

Question 15

Who was Avicenna? What were his major contributions?

Answer 15

He was a Persian Muslim scientist, known as the greatest Islamic intellectual

a physician, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, physicist and poet

his most famous belief was that medicine was a science, not a divine will or of supernatural causes

most important work was the ‘Canon of Medicine’ = a combination of everything he knew about Greek, Roman, Indian, Chinese and Islamic medicine - his work was the basis of medical curriculum in Europe until the mid-17th century

Question 16

Who were Avicenna’s inspirations for his Canon of Medicine? What was his purpose?

Answer 16

inspired by Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen

his purpose was to create a combination of these thoughts with Aristotle’s philosophy and other medical writers of Greek, Roman, Indian, Chinese and Islamic medicine + his own experience and ideas

Question 17

What did Avicenna’s medical work emphasize?

Answer 17

diagnosis, symptoms, and disease names (opposite to Hippocratic method) - unique to Islamic medicine

extensive discussions of physiology and psychology (Galen’s temperaments)

compound drugs with instructions and suggested clinical drug trials with Galen’s principles

Question 18

Who was the first to propose pulmonary circulation and oppose Galen’s tidal blood flow idea?

Answer 18

Ibn an-Nafis (~1288 AD)

blood moves out from right ventricle to left via the pulmonary circuit and not by pores in the septum

Question 19

Were human dissections allowed in Islamic medicine?

Answer 19

not until the 13th century

Question 20

Where were the largest hospitals in the Islamic civilization?

Answer 20

Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo

Question 21

How influential was Avicenna’s works and ideas? Which ancient authority did his influence rival?

Answer 21

VERY! his medical texts became the curriculum norm for European med schools until the mid-17th century

his influence rivalled Galen’s in Europe

Question 22

T or F: modern chemistry developed from Islamic alchemy

Answer 22

true

Question 23

What are some major contributions and legacies of Islamic Science?

Answer 23

many ancient books were re-established in Europe translated in Arabic

Avicenna and his Canon

Islamic alchemy as the basis for modern chemistry

emphasis on experimental science

Question 24

What are 3 historical issues which have hindered or downplayed the significance of Islamic science and its contributions?

Answer 24

1. some people argue that Islamic scholars only preserved and transmitted ancient science rather than make original contributions (this is not really believed anymore - they did make many original contributions)
2. religious thought and anti-philosophy in the 12th century may have hindered science by causing a religious reaction
3. Genghis Khan’s reign and violence in the 13th century destroyed the House of Wisdom and Islamic knowledge never fully recovered - this prevented a scientific revolution in Islamic science

Question 25

Define Scholasticism

Answer 25

a very specific definition: the assimilation of ancient texts into a Christian framework through

careful definition
logical analysis of texts
disputation and debate
reconciliation of opposing viewpoints

Question 26

How did Scholasticism try to assimilate ancient science into a Christian framework?

Answer 26

with the science covering the natural world and the Christian part covering the after life

Question 27

How did Scholasticism introduce intellectual honesty?

Answer 27

by encouraging disputation and debate rather than just accepting what has been told as fact

Question 28

Who were 2 major Scholastics?

Answer 28

Albertus Magnus
St. Thomas Aquinas

Question 29

Who was Albertus Magnus? What were his major contributions?

Answer 29

aka Doctor Universalis

part of the Scholastic tradition, he was a literary scholar, an alchemist, a teacher and a medieval naturalist

As a Scholastic, Magnus tried to make Aristotle’s concepts of nature fit into a theological perspective and fit his own observations into an Aristotelian framework

also first to isolate arsenic

Question 30

Who was Thomas Aquinas? What were his major contributions?

Answer 30

A pupil of Albertus Magnus, he became the greatest Scholastic and became the patron saint of scientists

wanted to establish the existence of god by rational thinking and not faith by use of Aristotle’s premise for science = causation = everything that happened was the result of a previous cause (ie., god was the first cause which led to everything else)

Question 31

Who was Roger Bacon?

Answer 31

A Franciscan monk during the 13th century (same time as Albertus and Aquinas: 1214-1292) part of the Scholastic Tradition

(also predicted futuristic technology like steamships, cars, and submarines)

an astrologist, numerologist, alchemist, and interest in magical herbs and gems

Question 32

In what ways did Roger Bacon disagree with Aristotle and Albertus Magnus? In what ways did he align with Aristotle?

Answer 32

Bacon didn’t agree with Aristotle’s concept of nature or approaches to science:
- he believed that science needed to be experimental and quantitative
- he did not think that science had to be related to Christian theology
- he thought science is explanatory and subject to empirical tests

he did agree with the basic premise of alchemy though and the biological purpose - which is inherently Aristotelian as it strives for perfection (transmutation to pure gold) and that the world was purposive

Question 33

Who were two other Medieval European scientists outside of the Scholastic tradition?

Answer 33

St Hildegard of Bingen
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen

Question 34

Who was St Hildegard of Bingen?

Answer 34

A Medieval European scientist OUTSIDE of the Scholastic Tradition

She was a German nun, abbess and mystic who recorded her religious visions (sanctioned by the Pope)

she was a healer, a naturalist, a musician, and possibly discovered putting hops in beer?

She was named a Doctor of the Church in 2012

Question 35

List these Medieval scientists or scholastics in chronological order and whether they were Scholastics or not:

Hildegard of Bingen
Albertus Magnus
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen
Roger Bacon
Thomas Aquinas

Answer 35

Hildegard of Bingen - not a Scholastic

Albertus Magnus and Frederick II roughly same era; Magnus was a Scholastic and Frederick II was not

Roger Bacon - a scholastic

Thomas Aquinas was a Scholastic pupil of Magnus

Hildegard predated all of these other guys (12th century), the other 4 lived roughly around the same time (13th century)

Question 36

who was Frederick II of Hohenstaufen? What were his major contributions?

Answer 36

The Holy Roman Emperor from 1220-1250
He was from Sicily, could speak Latin, Greek, Arabic and Italian - very smart and curious in science

an ORNITHOLOGIST

CONTRIBUTIONS:
- The Art of Falconry was his most important original contribution to Medieval science - ornithological knowledge based on original observations (not regurgitated from the ancients)
- established the University of Naples
- he made an imperial decree that granted certain rights to the Salerno Medical College and required that physicians obtain a medical degree here before practicing

Question 37

How did Frederick II of Hohenstaufen differ from the Scholastics at the time?

Answer 37

he did not share the Scholastics’ religion, assumptions or approach to science

Question 38

What did Frederick II believe in? how was this hypocritical?

Answer 38

free thought in regards to religion but only for himself

he thought society needed the social structure that religion provided so heresy was punished brutally

Question 39

Who wrote the Art of Falconry? Why was it significant for medieval science?

Answer 39

Frederick II of Hohenstaufen

it was his most important original contribution to medieval science because it included firsthand observations on ornithology

Question 40

Who established the oldest state-supported university in the world?

Answer 40

The University of Naples was established by Frederick II

Question 41

What was unique about the Salerno Medical College? Which prior scientists influenced its curriculum?

Answer 41

Frederick II imperially granted certain rights to this college, which had a formal curriculum with standardized exams

influenced by Hippocrates, Galen, and Avicenna

to become a physician, students had to graduate from this university

human dissections were allowed

curriculum and program similar to how medical programs run today

Question 42

Why did Frederick II make physicians and pharmacists legally unique jobs?

Answer 42

he saw the conflict of interest between a physician which is able to also prescribe and sell medication to patients

also establishes the importance of pharmacists who are specialists in drugs, drug use, and have your drug / medical history on record

Question 43

When were universities established and thriving?

Answer 43

in Medieval Europe, during the Scholastic period ~13th century

Question 44

Where were higher education lectures occurring before the establishment of universities?

Answer 44

in the early Middle Ages, lectures were held in cathedral schools and staffed by clergy - some of which became universities

some were just held at professor’s houses and the tuition was ‘tips’ on a sliding scale

Question 45

How were Medieval European universities international?

Answer 45

they taught in Latin, so anyone from anywhere in Europe who spoke and understood Latin could come study there and Latin was the international language for scholarship at the time

Question 46

In what ways do modern universities have an unbroken chain of continuity with medieval universities?

Answer 46

1. physical buildings were established in the Middle Ages for practicality and still persist today (ex. University of Naples)
2. students taught by professors become professors who teach students etc.
3. independent from government and external authority - decisions made internally about curriculum and this is a legacy that still persists - universities today are not under government authority

Question 47

What prevented the Scholastic era and scientific progression to continue through the Middle Ages?

Answer 47

the Black Death plague in the 14th century wiped out a huge proportion of European populations and put a hold on science for nearly a century