Warriors of the Cloisters

The Central Asian Origins of Science in the Medieval World
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-0-691-15531-9
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 224 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 559 g

Warriors of the Cloisters tells how key cultural innovations from Central Asia revolutionized medieval Europe and gave rise to the culture of science in the West. Medieval scholars rarely performed scientific experiments, but instead contested issues in natural science, philosophy, and theology using the recursive argument method. This highly distinctive and unusual method of disputation was a core feature of medieval science, the predecessor of modern science. We know that the foundations of science were imported to Western Europe from the Islamic world, but until now the origins of such key elements of Islamic culture have been a mystery. In this provocative book, Christopher I. Beckwith traces how the recursive argument method was first developed by Buddhist scholars and was spread by them throughout ancient Central Asia. He shows how the method was adopted by Islamic Central Asian natural philosophers--most importantly by Avicenna, one of the most brilliant of all medieval thinkers--and transmitted to the West when Avicenna's works were translated into Latin in Spain in the twelfth century by the Jewish philosopher Ibn Da'ud and others. During the same period the institution of the college was also borrowed from the Islamic world. The college was where most of the disputations were held, and became the most important component of medieval Europe's newly formed universities. As Beckwith demonstrates, the Islamic college also originated in Buddhist Central Asia. Using in-depth analysis of ancient Buddhist, Classical Arabic, and Medieval Latin writings, Warriors of the Cloisters transforms our understanding of the origins of medieval scientific culture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Beckwith, Christopher I.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Islamische & Arabische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Philosophie & Wissenschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

Abbreviations and Transcription of Foreign Languages xvii
Chapter One

Introduction 1
Chapter Two

The Recursive Argument Method of Medieval Science 11
Chapter Three

From College and Universitas to University 37
Chapter Four

Buddhist Central Asian Invention of the Method 50
Chapter Five

Islamization in Classical Arabic Central Asia 76
Chapter Six

Transmission to Medieval Western Europe 100
Chapter Seven

India, Tibet, China, Byzantium, and Other Control Cases 121
Chapter Eight

Conclusion 147
Appendix A: On the Latin Translations of Avicenna's Works 167

Appendix B: On Peter of Poitiers 171

Appendix C: The Charter of the Coll?ge des Dix-huit 186

References 187

Index 199

Über Autor(innen)

Beckwith, Christopher I.
Christopher I. Beckwith is professor of Central Eurasian studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. His books include "Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present" and "The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages" (both Princeton).