General Introduction

Abstract

For the past few decades, developments in History of Science have strongly emphasized the importance (if not necessity) of studying the cultural and intellectual contexts in which the sources were produced and used. Following this general trend, the core of the problematic addressed in this volume stems from two basic facts recognized by the contributors. The first is that, too often, sources of scientific knowledge have been studied without taking into account the various ‘contexts’ of transmission, specifically the “teaching context” in which this knowledge was elaborated, used and transmitted. The second is that other sources have been considered–sometimes dismissively and sometimes mistakenly – as relating to teaching and learning activities with little attempt to offer precision on, and demonstration of, the existence and nature of the underlying ‘teaching context’. Accordingly, the various contributions to this volume offer a more nuanced approach to teaching and learning activities as well as a reflection on what these terms meant for the actors themselves. Indeed, the complexity and variety of such activities appear when various periods and contexts are compared and confronted with each other. Thus, the present volume involves several disciplines and brings together a team of researchers in the history of ancient, medieval and modern science and in the history of education, all of whom share the above epistemological and methodological concerns despite the diversity of their subject areas. They have agreed to contribute to finding a better grounded approach to their specific subject areas, which extend from mathematics and astronomy to medicine, divination and religious lore.