the mathematical-hierarchic view was dominant, the effect was to identify
universals with reality and truth with that exemplified by apparently non-sen-
suous, a prori mathematical proof. The issues of epistemology, whether and
how truth can exist, were settled by fiat, built into the conceptual frame itself.
That is one reason why, whenever Neoplatonic ontology is challenged (by Ibn
Taymiyah and Ibn Khaldun among the Muslims, by the Christian nominalists,
again in the breakdown of the entire medieval-cum-ancient-Greek apparatus
in the 1600s), epistemology comes again to the fore.
We see here additional reasons why European philosophers, at the time of
the crisis of church politics, would be motivated to seek out the developments
among technical specialists in astronomy and mathematics. It is not that
medieval philosophy was anti-science; quite the contrary: a particular version
of science was built into its conceptual framework. Upheaval in the philosophi-
cal networks could not avoid overturning the framework of traditional science
as well.Three Revolutions and Their Networks
What is commonly called the scientific revolution was actually three overlap-
ping restructurings of the intellectual field. The math and science revolutions
consisted of transformation into rapidly moving research fronts, in effect the
discovery of discovery-making techniques. To speak of “revolution” here is a
bit metaphorical, since the acceleration of discovery making built up over four
to six generations; it was only toward the end of this development—in the
mid-1600s generation of Descartes, Mersenne, and Boyle—that the intellectual
world became decisively convinced that a new basis of knowledge making
existed. It was this recognition that set off what we can call the philosophical
revolution, the putting of philosophy to new uses, which gave Descartes the
reputation as founder of modern philosophy.
The takeoff of philosophical creativity that began at this time was not a
revolution in the same sense as the math and science revolutions; philosophy
remained philosophy, which is to say it continued to be structured by irrecon-
cilable rivalries and did not acquire a rapidly moving research front distin-
guishing it from previous philosophy. But the philosophical networks are
crucial in the math and science revolutions nevertheless. Not only did the
philosophical revolution put the seal of approval on the previous revolutions,
giving them general significance for the world. But also from the outset all
three networks were entwined; without their interconnection, the accelerated
discovery that made up the mathematics and science revolutions could not have
come about.
556 • (^) Intellectual Communities: Western Paths