THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD 67 



The growth of scientific knowledge started so suddenly at 

 the beginning of the seventeenth century that it might almost 

 be considered a revolution. As we study the course of this 

 revolution, it becomes evident that it represents a unique 

 event in history, and it is difficult to understand why it did 

 not occur earlier. We can, of course, ascribe the rapid 

 growth of science in the seventeenth century to the existence 

 of certain men, Galileo, Boyle, and Newton, for example, but 

 such individuals are known through all the ages of history. 

 Why did not the Greeks develop experimental science? 

 Singer says: "By the end of the fifth century b.c, not only 

 had philosophical thought taken a scientific turn, but science 

 itself had emerged as a preoccupation of men set aside from 

 their fellows." * Later many of the Hellenistic Greeks 

 of the Alexandrian school— Archimedes, for instance— were 

 famous for their interest in natural philosophy and for the 

 inventions that they made. But, in spite of the progress for 

 which they themselves were responsible, they did not act as 

 catalysts to set off a sudden growth of science contributed 

 to by many other men. 



Several explanations are possible for the unique phe- 

 nomena of the seventeenth century. Zilsel studied the emer- 

 gence of modern science as a sociological process. f He points 

 out that the end of the Middle Ages was a period of rapidly 

 progressing technology and of technological inventions and 

 that in the fifteenth century economic competition and the 

 spirit of enterprise were emerging from the fetters of the 

 feudal system. Feudal society was ruled by tradition and 

 custom, whereas the early capitalism proceeded rationally. 

 It calculated and measured, introduced bookkeeping, and 

 began to use machines. Thus at this period the social ban 

 against personal labor weakened sufficiently to enable edu- 

 cated men to carry out experiments with their own hands. 



* Charles Singer, A Short History of Science, p. 30, Oxford, Claren- 

 don Press, 1941. 



f E. Zilsel, "Sociological Roots of Science," The American Journal of 

 Sociology, XLVII, 544 (1942). 



