Adelard of Bath--a Questioning Spirit

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Heather Poland Med. History Mr. Hysell March 4, 2013 Adelard of Bath—A Questioning Spirit Adelard of Bath was a teacher of Arabic science who was born in England in 1080 and died in 1145. Adelard studied in France and traveled to numerous Muslim lands and soon built an outlook on Aristotle’s philosophic approach. Adelard gave greater attention to the natural world and what it consisted of. Adelard’s nephew was responding to Adelard’s thoughts of Aristotle and God in the article Natural Questions. Adelard was a traveling advocate of Arabic science and also was one of the scholars who was interested in Aristotle’s philosophic, naturalistic, and empirical approaches in the medieval period. Knowing this, it is obvious that Adelard was going to view things with an incredibly knowledgeable bias. An example of this bias is when Adelard said, “It is difficult for me to talk with you about animals, for I have learned one thing, under the guidance of reason, from Arabic teachers; but you, captivated by a show of authority, are led around by a halter.” Because Adelard was a highly intelligent scholar, he looked at things in a more scientific and scholarly manner rather than in the common manner of God’s will that was popular in the medieval times. Another example of Adelard’s bias is the quote, “For why not fill up sheets of paper, and why not write on the back too, when you usually have such readers today who require no rational explanation and put their trust only in the ancient name of a title?” In this quote, it is clear that Adelard was beginning to defend Aristotle’s teachings and slightly turn his back against the “God’s Will” approach. Natural Questions was recorded somewhere around the early 1100’s to about 1130, but the true completion date is unknown. Between these times in history, quite a few historical events happened. In 1107, Alexander I became King
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