by Guy Takamatsu

Created on: April 11, 2011   Last Updated: April 13, 2011

This is a fascinating three volume series about the history of science from the time of the Babylonians up until the 1700s. Each volume consists of 12 lectures. Each lecture lasts about 30 minutes. The geographical focus of this history is Middle East and Europe. The geographical focus is understandable since science eventually made greater strides in Europe than other parts of the world. Donald Keene in his book demonstrates that Japan during its isolation or closed country policy ( 1600's to the 1850's) came to value Western books, while trying to keep the outside powers at a distance.

 Dr. Principe provides an interesting look at the use of the words science and scientist. He states that the word scientist was coined in 1834, partly as a joke, but did not become widely accepted until the 1890's. He cites Thomas Huxley stating he would prefer the word electrocution over scientist. Instead of science and scientist the favored terms used historically were natural philosophy and natural philosopher. Throughout the series the speaker uses the term natural philosophy. 

The speaker begins with some of the accomplishments of the Babylonians and the Egyptians. He then moves to the Greeks and examines the various thinkers and competing theories. Probably the two biggest thinkers were Plato and Aristotle. From the Greeks he moves to the Romans. The Romans were more builders than abstract thinkers like the Greeks. After the Greeks he covers the development of science in the Islamic world. He shifts focus from the Islamic world in his lecture “The Latin West reawakens.” Like the Islamic world before them, the Latin West sought to translate text into their own languages. Improved social, security and economic conditions created more time for intellectuals in the Latin West to pursue scholarly interests. Dr., Principe then cover the development of Western thought up until the 1700's. He covers individuals such as Kepler and Newton and groups such as the monastic orders and royal scientific societies.

 Contrary to popular belief science is not always opposed to religion. Dr. Principe demonstrates quite persuasively that religion needed practical science to aid in their astrological work. Science was also needed in determining the planting seasons. Medieval monks needed to know when to pray at certain times of the day. . In a manner reminiscent of the television series CONNECTIONS, Dr. Principe masterfully shows step by step how the theological question by 12th century theologian Peter Lombard eventually led to Galileo's science of kinematics. He makes the point in more than one lecture that the idea of science versus religion is a nineteenth century polemic. Oftentimes students are taught the concepts of science without realizing the context in which the science was developed. Dr. Principe shows repeatedly how scientific developments, such as Kepler's law of planetary motion, were made in a religious or philosophical context. 

While this writer does not agree with the lecturer on every point, nevertheless he finds the work informative and thought provoking The series is part of the Great Courses series and is available through The Teaching Company. The CD series has booklet which contains an outline of each lecture and study questions.. The lectures series is not cheap. (The CD series is about $ 269.95 and the audio download is $ 199.95). So you may want to check your local library. For those who want to purchase this series, it might be a good idea to wait until The Teaching Company offers it for sale at a discount.

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