Albert the Great: Remembering a Medieval Polymath Who Paved the Way for the Renaissance and Holistic Thinking

“The aim of natural science is not simply to accept the statements of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature.”
—Saint Albertus Magnus

By 1931, the world had descended into a global economic downturn. The jubilation marking the end of the Great War had long dissipated, giving way to the somber reality of the Great Depression. The roaring optimism of the 1920s had been replaced by widespread uncertainty, with revolutions looming and extremist nationalistic ideologies gaining traction. In America, the Dust Bowl, exacerbated by poor agricultural practices and climate change, wreaked havoc across the Great Plains, and scientists began to recognize the detrimental warming effects of carbon emissions resulting from the Industrial Revolution. By 1938 there was proof that global temperatures were rising.* Even the most optimistic projections for the future were bleak.

Amid these transformative times, Pope Pius XI canonized Albertus Magnus (c 1200 -1280) on December 16, 1931. Revered during his lifetime as “Albert the Great,” Albertus was not only a Dominican friar but also an early scientist, philosopher, and educator. He was declared the Patron Saint of Natural Scientists and later honored as a Doctor of the Church, a distinction held by only 37 individuals.

Born to lower nobility in present-day Germany, Albertus pursued his studies with vigor. He studied Aristotle in Padua, where he joined the Dominican Order, and taught at several universities before moving to Paris, where he met his most illustrious student, Thomas Aquinas. Albertus became Aquinas’s lifelong mentor and the precursor to his theological contributions.

As the Patron Saint of Natural Scientists, Albertus’s scientific endeavors might be presumed to be intertwined with religious dogma, but instead, he brought science to the forefront of the medieval Church, fostering a complex relationship between faith and science that persists today. Albertus’s contributions to science are vast. He is considered one of the fathers of alchemy and chemistry and is credited with discovering arsenic and the photosensitive properties of silver nitrate, which paved the way for photography. 

Albertus also made significant contributions to philosophy, particularly through Scholasticism, a method of learning that emphasizes rigorous dialectical reasoning to uncover truth. His belief in the importance of shared understanding is evident in his studies of friendship, where he described the harmony of goodwill and love between individuals.

However, it was Albertus Magnus’s contributions to the natural sciences that may be the most foundational and pioneering. His extensive scholarly works span many scientific disciplines, including astronomy, geography, physics, chemistry, mechanics, mineralogy, zoology, botany, anthropology, physiology, and medicine. Albertus’s systematic approach to scientific inquiry and his emphasis on empirical observation laid critical groundwork for future scientific advancements, making him a vital figure in the history of natural sciences. His legacy is a testament to the enduring importance of curiosity, rigorous study, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge.

In his philosophical contributions to understanding the natural world, Albertus Magnus was a key figure in the Scholastic movement, where he sought to reconcile the knowledge of the ancient world with the theological teachings of the Church. His work emphasized the compatibility of faith and reason, arguing that the natural world could be understood through a combination of empirical observation and rational analysis.

Albertus was heavily influenced by Aristotle, whose works he studied and commented on extensively. He believed that studying nature was a way to gain insight into the creation. This Aristotelian approach allowed Albertus to develop a framework for understanding the natural world that was both systematic and comprehensive. He posited that all natural phenomena could be explained by identifying their causes and effects, thus laying the groundwork for the scientific method.

In his writings, Albertus articulated the idea that nature operated according to laws established by God, which humans could understand through study and contemplation. He argued that the material world was not to be dismissed as inferior to the spiritual realm, but was worthy of rigorous investigation, saying, “Natural science does not consist in ratifying what others have said, but in seeking the causes of phenomena.” This perspective was revolutionary at a time when many viewed the material world with suspicion and prioritized spiritual knowledge.

Albertus’s philosophical approach also emphasized the interconnectedness of all aspects of the natural world. He believed that every element of nature, from the smallest plant to the vast cosmos, was part of a grand, divine design. This holistic view encouraged a broader, more integrated approach to studying natural phenomena, influencing fields as diverse as biology, physics, and ecology. Moreover, revolutionary to his time, Albertus’s defense of reason in understanding the natural world paved the way for his student, Thomas Aquinas, and other Scholastics, who further developed these ideas. His insistence on the importance of empirical evidence and rational thought in theological contexts helped to create an intellectual environment where scientific inquiry could flourish.

Albertus Magnus’s philosophical contributions significantly shaped medieval thought and provided a crucial bridge between ancient scientific traditions and the emerging scientific revolution of the Renaissance. Establishing the study of nature as science, his work demonstrated how the pursuit of knowledge about the natural world and the causes at work could enhance and deepen one’s understanding of the universe. Pre-Gaia theory he wrote, “Do there exist many worlds, or is there but a single world? This is one of the most noble and exalted questions in the study of Nature.”

David Strunk is a writer based out of New York City by way of Alabama. He works with World Sensorium Conservancy as a contributing editor and producer for WS/C Kids. You can reach him here.

*Fleming, J.R. (2007) The Callendar Effect: the life and work of Guy Stewart Callendar (1898–1964) Amer Meteor Soc., Boston. ISBN 978-1-878220-76-9

*Fleming, J.R. (1998) Historical Perspectives on Climate Change Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 0-19-507870-5

*Mann, Charles C. (2018) The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World, Penguin Random House. ISBN978-0307961693