Archive image from page 136 of The dignity of science; studies The dignity of science; studies in the philosophy of science dignityofscience00weis Year: 1961 MEDICINE AND PHILOSOPHY 11TH AND 12TH CENTURIES 99 it is not necessary.' ** His claim for his treatment is that nothing more probable will be found in the works of ' modern physicists.' Since things which are and are seen are bodies, and since all bodies are composed of elements, his starting point is with elements as Constantine defines them. ' An element, therefore, as Constantine says in the Pantechne, is a simple and minimum part of
Archive image from page 136 of The dignity of science; studies The dignity of science; studies in the philosophy of science dignityofscience00weis Year: 1961 MEDICINE AND PHILOSOPHY 11TH AND 12TH CENTURIES 99 it is not necessary.' ** His claim for his treatment is that nothing more probable will be found in the works of ' modern physicists.' Since things which are and are seen are bodies, and since all bodies are composed of elements, his starting point is with elements as Constantine defines them. ' An element, therefore, as Constantine says in the Pantechne, is a simple and minimum part of any body, simple with respect to quality, minimum with respect to quantity.' * William interprets this to mean that an element is ' a simple part, which has no contrary qualities,' which Constantine expands, in order to exclude homogeneous wholes, like bones, by adding ' a mini- mum part, which is a part of something in such wise that nothing of the same sort is part of it.' Letters are elements in like fashion because they are parts of syllables in a way in which nothing is part of them. Constantine undertook to derive humors from the composition of the four elements, then homo- eomeries or ' consimilar parts,' like flesh and bone, as well as organic or ' instrumental parts,' like hands and feet, from humors, and finally, the human body from these two kinds of parts. Consequently, the elements are not ' things which are seen,' the earth, water, air, and fire, which are commonly called elements, for those are not simple in quality or minimum in quantity, but each is seen to contain all the qualities, as there is in earth, for example, something of hot, of cold, of dry, and of moist. William argues therefore that the elements of corporeal things or things which are seen are incorporeal or things which are not seen. Division is of two sorts: the human body can be divided into members and homoeomeries actually, but only the understanding divides homoeomeries into humors and into
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