George Sarton (1884–1956) was a Belgian-American chemist and historian who is considered the founder of the discipline of history of science.He has a significant importance in the history of science and his most influential work was the Introduction to the History of Science, which consists of three volumes and 4,296 pages. Sarton's ultimate goal was to achieve an integrated philosophy of science that provided a connection between the sciences and the humanities, which he referred to as "the new humanism".
Sometime in the 1990's I picked up the two books that make parts 1 & 2 of volume 2 of this extensive series when they were withdrawn from OBU's collection. They are quizzical books and last year I decided to peruse them. Here is an encyclopedic introduction to a wide range of topics--Indian logic, Japanese tea, Chinese ceramics, Icelandic sagas, Armenian medicine, Muslim arithmetic, etc.--and situated in the 12th century. I read the book mainly for its introductory and summarizing essays and its discussion of the philosophical background. Sarton, one of the founders of the history of science already had a very broad and rich understanding of that discipline.
The key figures in this particular book are Ibn Rush and Maimonides as they defend the role of reason being challenged by more fundamentalist and mystical elements in their traditions and the lasting influence that their discussions of Aristotle had upon developments in the Christian west.