2. Science on the Continent. The mathematicist
orientation of the Oxford school foreshadowed in some
ways the Neo-Pythagoreanism and rationalism of the
seventeenth century. This aspect of their thought was
generally rejected, however, by their contemporaries
at the University of Paris, especially Albertus Magnus
and Thomas Aquinas. Both of the latter likewise com-
posed lengthy commentaries on the
Posterior Analytics
and on the physical works of Aristotle, primarily to
put the Stagirite's thought at the service of Christian
theology, but also to aid their students in uncovering
nature's secrets. Not convinced of an underlying math-
ematical structure of reality, they placed more stress
on the empirical component of their scientific method-
ology than on the mathematical.
Albertus Magnus is particularly noteworthy for his
skill at observation and systematic classification. He
was an assiduous student of nature, intent on ascertain-
ing the facts, and not infrequently certifying observa-
tions with his Fui et vidi experiri (“I was there and
saw it for myself”). He recognized the difficulty of
accurate observation and experimentation, and urged
repetition under a variety of conditions to ensure ac-
curacy. He was painfully aware of and remonstrated
against the common failing of the Schoolmen, i.e., their
uncritical reliance on authority, including that of Aris-
totle. Among his own contributions were experiments
on the thermal effects of sunlight, which A. C. Crombie
has noted employed the method of agreement and
difference later to be formulated by J. S. Mill; the
classification of some hundred minerals, with notes on
the properties of each; a detailed comparative study
of plants, with digressions that show a remarkable sense
of morphology and ecology; and studies in embryology
and reproduction, which show that he experimented
with insects and the lower animals (Crombie, 1953).
Albert also had theoretical and mathematical interests,
stimulating later thinkers such as William of Ockham
and Walter Burley with his analysis of motion, and
doing much to advance the Ptolemaic conception of
the structure of the universe over the more orthodox
Aristotelian views of his contemporaries.
The best experimental contribution of this period,
however, was that of Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt,
whose Epistola de magnete (1269) reveals a sound
empirical knowledge of magnetic phenomena. Peter
explained how to differentiate the magnet's north pole
from its south, stated the rule for the attraction and
repulsion of poles, knew the fundamentals of magnetic
induction, and discussed the possibility of breaking
magnets into smaller pieces that would become mag-
nets in turn. He understood the workings of the mag-
netic compass, viewing magnetism as a cosmic force
somewhat as Kepler was later to do. His work seems
to be the basis for Roger Bacon's extolling the experi-
mental method, and it was praised by William Gilbert
(1540-1603) as “a pretty erudite book considering the
time.”
