En la Edad Media progresó la ciencia y la tecnología, aunque la universidad (una institucion de origen medieval) trate de ocultarlo

Acabo de ojear un texto que parece ser un trabajo elaborado por un alumno para la signatura de Historia de la Ciencia en una universidad norteamericana. No tiene aval alguno de ningún profesor, pero imagino que si el estudiante lo ha publicado es porque cree que aporta algo positivo a la historia de la ciencia. Algo aporta, pero también crea bastante confusión, sobre todo en lo relativo a la historia de la ciencia medieval.

La causa de todo es el prejuicio anticatólico. Me refiero a esto:

The fall of the Roman Empire in the west put a halt to the scientific growth that would eventually come to dominate the world. The Church, which arose from the ashes of Rome, would further stagnate creativity and free thought, thereby squashing any realistic development of a theory of gravity.

El imperio romano dejó de aportar avances significativos a la ciencia bastante antes de su caída, así que la teoría no se sostiene. Por el contrario, la Iglesia salvó lo que se pudo y merecía la pena (y le servía, va de suyo), y cuando las condiciones sociales y, poí­ticas fueron oportunas, desarrolló lo que heredó. En particular, el estudiante cita una serie de personajes que confronta con la Iglesia, ignorando quizás que todos ellos eran religiosos de la Iglesia Católica, uno de ellos un obispo y el otro un cardenal.

The spotlight is on the philosophers Jean Buridan and Nicole Oresme (c.1320 – 1382). At this point in time, Aristotle’s viewpoints, with some minor modifications, are the dominant factor in scientific thinking. Additionally, these theories are tempered by the Roman Church.

It wouldn’t be until 1440 that another significant contribution to the theory of gravity came along. Nicolas Cusanus put forth an idea that stated celestial bodies were individual centers of gravity, a thought that went very much against the teachings of the Church.

By getting these ideas published in his text De Revolutionibus, Copernicus was able to start opening doors to later scientists that had previously been closed by the Church.

Buridán fue un clérigo francés, Oresme un obispo, Nicolás de Cusa un cardenal, Copérnico otro clérigo. Creo que quedarían escandalizados si vieran que este aprtendiz de historiador los utiliza contra la Iglesia. Por cierto, como todo va junto, también pone por las nubes unas propuestas sueltas de un astrónomo indio, al que hace supuesto “precursor” de Copérnico:

Around 476 A.D, an astronomer by the name of Aryabhatta was born. Educated at the University of Nalanda, he went on to write a text, written in Sanskrit, entitled the Aryabhattiya. In the fourth chapter, verse 9, he writes:

Just as a man rowing a boat sees the trees on the bank of the river go in the opposite direction, so do the fixed stars appear to us to move from East to West. (Narlikar, 1982:26).

In this verse, he is plainly expressing the view that the Earth is rotating on its own axis, a view which went against common belief. He also stated his belief that the solar system was heliocentric. This was followed up in the 6th Century A.D. with the thought that there might be a force responsible for both keeping objects attached to the Earth and for keeping the celestial bodies in their proper positions. This idea was propounded by the Indian astronomer Varahamira. (Sudheer). In the 7th Century A.D., yet another Indian astronomer suggested “Bodies fall towards the earth as it is in the nature of the earth to attract bodies, just as it is in the nature of water to flow.” (Sudheer). Unfortunately, as with the work of Stratos, these views were commonly ignored and never had a chance to truly impact the flow of science. Texts like the Aryabhattiya didn’t make it to Europe until the 13th Century; by the time they were translated into Latin and distributed, Copernicus and Galileo had already started making these discoveries on their own. Why didn’t the Indians take these ideas and further develop them? The Greek influence was so strong that even the Indians were awed by them; theories such as the ones thought out by people like Aryabhatta were often ridiculed and never had much of a chance to make it into the “mainstream” (Narlikar:1982).

Ningunear a la Cultura Cristiana de Occidente está de moda.

The History of the Theory of Gravity, An Overview