A History of the science

Stephan F. Mason

Science, as we know it today, was a comparatively late product of the general developement of human
civilization. Prior to the modern period of history, we cannot say that there was much of a science
tradition, distrinct from the tradition of the philosophers on the one hand, and that of the craftsmen
on the other. The roots of science, however, ran deep, stretching back to the period before the
appearance of civilization. No matter how far back in history we go there were always some
techniques, facts, and conceptions, known to craftsmen or scholars, which were scientific in character,
though before modern times such knowledge in general was subordinate to the requirements of
either the philosopichal or the craft tradition. Philosopichal considerations, for example, limited the
important scientific achievement of the ancient greeks, so that both of their two main astronomical
systems conflictted with observations known in antiquity.

Science had its historical roots in two primary sources. Firstly, the technical tradition, in which practical
experiences and skills were handed on and developed from one generation to another; and secondly,
the spiritual tradition, in which human aspirations and were ideas were passed on and augmented.
Such tradition existed before civilization appeared, if we are to judge by the continuity in the
developement of the tools used by the men of the stone age, and by their burial practices and cave
paintings. In the bronze age civilizations, the two traditions appear to have been largely separate,
perpetuated on the one hand by craftsmen, and on the other by corporations of priestly scribes,
though the latter had some important utilitarian techniques of their own.

In the subsequent civilizations, the two traditions remained separate for the most part, though both
became differentiated, the philosopher separating off from the priest and the scribe, and the artisans
of one trade from those of another. There were occasional rapprochements, notably those in ancient
Greece, but, in general, it was not until the late middle ages and early modern times that elements
from the two traditions began to converge, and then combine, producing a new tradition, that of
science. The developement of science then became more autonomous, and containing both practical
and theorical elements, science produced result which had both technical and philosopichal
implications. Thus, science reacted back and influenced its sources, and indeed it had and effect
ultimatelyupon domains far removed from its immediate origins. With these things, and with the inner
developement of the scientific movement, we shall be concerned in this book.