Violet Moller’s “The Map of Knowledge” is a splendid journey through time and thought

Overview

Violet Moller is an independent historian, writer, and presenter at the Travels Through Time podcast.  She received her Ph.D. in intellectual history from Edinburgh University and has written a masterpiece: “The Map of Knowledge: a Thousand-year history of how classical ideas were lost and found” (2019).  The book’s main purpose is to provide a wide audience with a broad view of the history of ideas from AD 500 to AD 1500.  Starting with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and its negative consequences on learning and ideas, Moller takes readers on a whirlwind tour dedicating each chapter to a specific city: Alexandria, Baghdad, Cordoba, Toledo, Salerno, Palermo, and Venice.  Moller concludes the book with a ninth chapter briefly exploring significant ideas from “1500 and Beyond.”

Readers will learn about the history of major ideas and contributions to knowledge from notable scholars, experimenters, tinkerers, and rulers from the Mediterranean region.  You will learn about influential texts and ideas like the Greek Euclid’s “The Elements” on mathematics (p. 25), the Greek-Egyptian Claudius Ptolemy’s “Geographia” and “The Almagest” on astronomy and the earth (p. 31-33), the Indian Brahmagupta’s “The Opening Universe” on the positional notation system (p. 70), the Arab Al-Khwarizmi’s Kitab al-Jabre’s algebra (p. 71), Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al Razi’s contributions to psychology and medicine (p. 79), the origins of pharmacology (p. 94), and Fibonacci’s contributions (p. 208), to name just a few. 

This book is important because it articulates how several cultures influenced each other throughout the ages.  Not one culture, individual, or group can claim a monopoly on knowledge and thought for this region and period.  Equally important, the book is balanced and nuanced, which is crucial when exploring a topic like this since it could easily become controversial.

For this blog, the book’s most crucial contributions are the conditions in which knowledge and scholarship flourish, critical ingredients to any functional society.  Read on to learn more.

Key takeaways and lessons learned

Readers can glean several essential lessons from “The Map of Knowledge” about the history of ideas from AD 500 to AD 1500.  Below I present just five notable ones that resonated with me.

Medicine, unlike other disciplines, remained relevant throughout history because there was always an immediate, public need for it.  Other academic disciplines, like science, math, or alternative theology, would usually draw the wrath from firmly entrenched religious institutions like the church (p. 12).  Even if medicine was rudimentary, unscientific, and inaccurate during this period, the case for its experimentation and knowledge transfer illustrates how even the most critical issues cannot be ignored or thwarted by large, controlling institutions.  Even those same domineering institutions are obligated to make good ideas and practices eventually work.  We cannot help but thank Moller for sharing this vital insight because it remains pertinent for our current age.  Pioneering medical technologies, like gene-editing, may dramatically improve humanity’s material well-being and give individuals the freedom from illness, injury, or disability they so desperately need, achieving a higher-quality life.  Of course, large institutions may continue to regulate and control the discourse around new medical interventions, but medical needs will eventually be met.

The experience of the Mozarabs parallels the lives of ethnic minorities in the western world today.  Who were the Mozarabs?  They were Arabized Christians in Spain who learned, studied, and embraced Arab culture, books, ideas, and more because Latin and Europe were “suffocating from a lack of ideas and religious atrophy” (p. 100).  Ironically, the Mozarabs, like Sephardi Jews, suffered more under Catholic rule than Muslim rule (p. 219).  It is no wonder why today, so many immigrants to the Western world embrace Western values, norms, and practices, for the most part, whether they left their homelands or are first-generation members of Western communities.  Like the Mozarabs before them, their homelands may have been cultural backwaters, void of rigorous intellectual thought, science, and technology.  For sure, families continue their religions, traditions, and languages up to a point.  But it seems as if most immigrants, especially for countries like Canada, mostly become integrated and share in the benefits of the Western world, slowly shaking off former norms and values.

Moller gives modern readers clear insight into why we’ve forgotten about non-European scholars.  The author explains that in Europe, many essential non-European texts were Latinized and that scholars emphasized contributions from Greek texts (p. 258).  However, it is plausible that European plagiarism of non-European ideas may have been because of Europe’s aversion to anything Islamic, even if it was beneficial.  Some European scholars, such as Constantine, may have written Muslim scholars out of history to ensure their ideas’ survival.  This was because Christian society would not accept the ideas of a Muslim provenance.  To be clear, both Muslim and Christian societies are guilty of showing an aversion to science and rational thought.  Cordoba, for instance, fell when radical Muslim clerics and leaders burned and threw books down wells in the tenth century (even though Muslims ruled Cordoba and many of its inhabitants embraced diverse thinking since AD 756) (p. 116).  And Catholic Spaniards in 1499 erased roughly 700 years of Muslim history when they burned everything they possibly could from Muslim scholars (p. 118).  Sadly, we do not know what types of knowledge were lost. 

These details are essential for a few reasons.  Many throughout the developed world seek reconciliation and reparations for past atrocities committed against others based on reasons usually related to identity politics, such as race, religion, and sex.  Many correctly argue and feel that some of history’s victors effectively destroyed and smeared certain cultures, painting the losers as people who never contributed to humanity’s intellectual achievements.  The anger and dismay are justified.  It is upsetting and ridiculous how many students throughout the developed world know little to nothing about the scholarly contributions of non-Western people.  This book, I hope, can serve as a gentle, entertaining introduction to the contributions of others within and near the ancient Mediterranean. 

Additionally, these historical events may explain some crucial aspects of cognitive distancing and bias in general.  Good ideas are sometimes rejected not on their merits but because of their origins.  Some of us may have experienced this in our personal lives.  Before Donald Trump arrived on the political scene, many may recall staunch left-wingers vehemently opposed to free trade policies.  For many on the left, the very thought of free trade usually conjured images of child labour and environmental degradation at the hands of ‘evil’ Western multinational companies.  Yet, these same left-leaning individuals pulled a 180 once Trump became relevant with his anti-free trade rhetoric.  Our formerly anti-free trade neighbours became pro-free trade because anti-free trade thinking was associated with an inflated Cheeto who stares at solar eclipses. 

It is upsetting that many throughout history and even today have difficulty setting their differences aside to collaborate more effectively and acknowledge their biases.  Instead of accepting and acknowledging one another’s contributions and merits, people seem too focused on identity and claiming ownership of ideas only when emotionally satisfying, even if those ideas can never truly be original.

Europe eventually advanced because some scholars and leaders were knowledgeable, far-sighted, and astute enough to recognize and adopt intelligent ideas from the Muslim world.  Individuals like Gerard (1114-1187) of Toledo (p. 145), the North African merchant Constantine of Salerno (p. 153-167), Roger de Hauteville (1031-1101) of Sicily and Palermo (p. 193-194), Frederick II (1194-1250) (p. 208-213), and too many others to list here, made a concerted effort to learn from the Muslim world, translate their texts from Arabic to Latin, and adopt luxuries and innovations like falconry and chess.  These big whig Europeans were in awe of the Muslim world’s achievements.  Like the Muslim scholars before them who preserved Greek and Roman knowledge, these voracious Europeans did whatever they could, sometimes studying under the tutelage of Muslim scholars, so they could eventually transfer the knowledge to a broader Latin, European audience.

Today, this is no longer the case.  Science, technology, and innovative practices now flow from the Western world to the rest.  The purpose of highlighting these examples is not to disparage one group over another.  Instead, this knowledge transfer exemplifies how being tolerant and curious about new ideas can serve as learning opportunities for everyone, even from places that society and public institutions deem undesirable and dangerous.  Even if these ideas are not entirely accepted.  Indeed, we should not all quit our jobs and put our family life on hold to discover a new mathematical formula or medical intervention – especially if you’re not qualified for such endeavours.  But we should try to occasionally make a genuine effort to learn something new as often as possible, even if it’s something outside our most immediate borders.  The experience could be life-enriching.

Most importantly, Moller conveniently lists the necessary conditions that allowed scholarship to flourish: political stability; a regular supply of funding and texts; talented, interested individuals; and tolerance and inclusiveness towards different nationalities and religions (p. 264).  Politicians, civil servants, and citizens should familiarize themselves with these conditions if they wish to maintain and foster growth in knowledge and technical expertise.  It’s relevant today because every business, public intellectual, and government bureaucracy incessantly (and nauseatingly) uses the word “innovation” in speech, tweets, distribution lists, and press releases.  Instead of the empty words, why not relentlessly foster the four conditions above?

Overall impression

If you or someone you know is interested in philosophy, knowledge, ideas, and science, I strongly encourage you to read “The Map of Knowledge.”  Moller has gifted us a spectacular entertaining, informative, and necessary text.  It does not read like the dry, rambling philosophy books some of us read in university.  She does not list inventions in chronological order but provides several fascinating examples; this is particularly useful for those seeking proof of past scientific contributions, particularly from the Mediterranean.  Moller excellently conveys significant contributions to humanity’s knowledge in a concise, engaging way, with too many lessons and examples for me to share here.  Some readers may feel I did not scrutinize the book enough, but I honestly could not find any issues or quibbles with the text; I relished every page.  Get the book and get reading.