MAREK GENSLER, The Relation Between Superstition and Science in Walter Burley’s Parva Naturalia Commentaries

SUMMARY

For the modern reader, Walter Burley’s commentaries on Aristotle’s Parva naturalia are a puzzling blend of superstitions and rational arguments. A more detailed analysis of selected issues shows that they are very well integrated within a complex worldview. What is more, the Christian-Aristotelian worldview of those times allowed for critical procedures of data analysis, which enabled scholars of the time to test everyday beliefs and see whether they can be explained by means of the accepted theories. In this manner they were able to preserve the coherence of the system of knowledge and identify the exceptional cases, which were branded as superstitions.