NATS 1775 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Song Dynasty, Nationstates, Thomas Edison
5 Jan 2016
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Lecture 1 long answer: the relationship between science and technology. Many natural philosophers were disdainful of craft tradition. Plato for example, in his book the republic, believes in separating pursuit of natural knowledge from mundane activities of craft and technology. Should not study astronomy or mathematics for practical purposes. Hugh of st. victor around 1140 ad who saw the mechanical arts as part of man"s religious and philosophical quest (technical knowledge was not inferior to philosophical knowledge and says all are equally important in religious salvation) St. victor saw mechanical arts as a branch of knowledge that paralleled theoretical knowledge and practical arts. Theoretical knowledge was a remedy for ignorance; practical knowledge a remedy for vice and the mechanical arts a remedy for physical weakness. Pursuing any of these kinds of knowledge would contribute to man"s rise from his fallen state (i. e. garden of eden, adam and eve, etc ) and would lead to religious salvation.
