08/14/2018

B18 The Christian-medieval world view and its methodological shortcomings

The medieval Christian conception has in common with the Pythagorean that a connection has been seen between the harmony of music and the harmony of the cosmos. Both have been incorporated into a broader theological context, with two types of practice being distinguished: observation and transmission by analogy.

The observation

The starting point of the astronomers was the location of the observer on a seemingly immobile surface of the earth. Above it are the transforming stars visible to the naked eye, the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. In one level a fixed sea of stars appeared, which could be "charted" by means of constellations, and this, too, seemed to circle the earth periodically. The presence of gravity supported this view. The geocentric view of the world is therefore nothing more than the result of observation.

Geocentric Worldview, Schedel's World Chronicle 1493

The assumption that both the convertible stars and the fixed stars must each be anchored in a separate sphere collided with the observation of the planetary loops, for which there had to be an explanation. One observation corrects the other. This corresponds to scientific approach. Faulty interpretations and their corrections lead to incremental knowledge gain. After lengthy deliberations and with the help of an improved instrumentation for observation, it finally had to be established that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn and other planets revolve around the sun and only that the moon revolves around the earth - and further that the Earth turns on its own axis. This very short description of the beginnings describes the emergence of a science that today is called astrophysics.

Transmission by analogy

Pythagoras is credited with the idea - surely she is much older - that the world was created by a demiurge. If we leave untouched the belief in a creator God as such, the view is based on the fact that the manifestations in the world should have a commonality, so to speak, a corporate identity of the world manufacturer, not on a compelling conclusion, because just an almighty creative creator should be capable of multitasking and be able to implement various ideas at the same time, which are reflected in the laws of nature.

Such a view would not have hampered scientific work at any time. However, the reverse conclusion was especially important because a single underlying plan makes the existence of a single creator seem plausible. The competition of different worldviews - above all the Polytheism of the Greeks and Romans denounced as a polytheism - made it necessary to offer such a "counterargument" and it also required that in the laws themselves a relationship to the Scriptures be recognizable. After a causal relationship was not found, only symbolism was available. This - analogy transmission - is to a certain extent the second choice, because the 1st election would have been a conclusive proof of God.

Here, therefore, several processes take place simultaneously: 1 The continuation of the idea that heaven is a dwelling place of the gods or the god. 2. The assumption of Greek knowledge regarding the vibrating string. 3. The enrichment of those findings with Christian symbolism. 4. The observation that the monotheistic view does not contradict the Pythagorean assumption of a demiurge. 5. The assumption of Pythagoras' relationship between musical and cosmic harmony. 6. The view that in all this a connection to the contents of the Old and New Testament can be recognized.

This view of the world became so significant that special means of power were used to maintain it: the persecution, torture and execution of dissidents - regardless of the Ten Commandments - excommunication, excommunication, book burning and the index. In addition, the church held over many centuries the educational monopoly. All this was in diametrical contradiction to the contents of the theory of harmony, which make it impossible to achieve salvation without love of the enemy and wisdom. Accordingly, it would have been necessary to draw attention to the important analogy to harmony among people, not to the analogy with the stars.

If only this principle were observed, the crusades would have been unthinkable, but the power interest was clearly in the foreground. An overview of the publications on cosmology makes it clear that the idea of a Harmonia Marcrocosmica was still maintained beyond the Copernican turn, regardless of the denomination. The last apologists include Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), Andreas Cellarius (1564-1665), Athanasius Kircher (* 1602- † 1680) and Johann Heinrich Buttstett (* 1666-1727).

Only in the Age of Enlightenment did prominent ghosts publicly - and with impunity - take a different way of thinking. For example, Leibnitz writes on the universe: "God had never delivered such an imperfect machine.", or Immanuel Kant: "... Nature is self-sufficient, the divine government is unnecessary." And further, Laplace on God: "I never needed this hypothesis".

Charles Darwin, on the other hand, quotes William Whewell, (*1794-†1866), who tries to build a bridge as a believer by writing: "But with regard to the material world, we can at least go as far as this - we can The event is brought about by the interdependence of Devine power exerted in each case, but by the establishment of general laws." Elsewhere, Whewell speaks of "intelligent design" and concludes his essay with the words, "... where science has thrown forth a strong illumination upon the scheme of creation, ... we find full wisdom and harmony, and beauty ... this harmonious combination of laws, this beautiful symmetry of relations ... we can not doubt to be the most worthy objects of the Creators care."

Thus, the view described above, that an indication of the Creator must be recognizable in all things, has been corrected. Moreover, it has been recognized that symbols, parables and analogies make it possible to assume relationships that are not causally given. Since then, their application in a scientific context is considered unprofessional. The result is a demarcation of world images par excellence, since they describe something man-made, not nature observation. The german term "Weltbild" (picture of the world) therefore refers to a picture of the world as a subjective interpretation of it. Therefore, it is not unlike a work of art, only with the difference that its contents are considered by the respective followers as truth. To stay in the picture, this is just as if exemplified living things could suddenly come to life. Mirroring this would be the science fiction to be considered, which, however, already recognizes in the name as an imaginary world, while the Belief in all cultures is considered the truth.

In the meantime, science has accumulated a knowledge that goes far beyond the medieval horizon, but the academic effort is not to design worldviews but to understand the world as it is in the best possible way. The methodological conflict between analogy and causality thus remains unchanged even centuries after the Enlightenment. It has its cause in the two modes of linking human thinking, which provide the source material for our beliefs with alternative facts.

The Western harmony has the didactic potential, the sovereign, to teach nonviolent treatment of these beliefs. Each generation is confronted with the same challenge again, and the danger is always the overemphasis of absolutized half-truth. Absolutism and Enlightenment announce it. In contrast, the theory of harmony tells of the symmetrical and balanced handling of dissimilar elements.

In historical retrospect, the medieval Christian world view challenged the Enlightenment. Since then, one speaks of a harmony of the cosmos only in a metaphorical sense. The Christian symbolism of the sound system came first out of view and then was forgotten. Having admitted this is a grave negligence. Almost admonishing, William Shakespeare (*1564-†1616) writes:

"The man that did no music in himself,

Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,

Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;

The motions of his spirit are dull as night,

And his affections dark as Erebus.

Let no one search be trusted.

Mark the music."

William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, V. Act, Scene 1

Despite all efforts to explain structural conditions in a comprehensible way and to prepare them for use by posterity and the world, people were and are always free to follow other interests. The ignorant treatment of the ethical content of harmony is a thought-provoking example of this.