27
led almost all those outside Europe, most notably the Imperial Observatory in
Beijing.
Furthermore, judging the Society’s contribution to science outside Central and
Western Europe only in terms of the acquisition of data useful to Europeans neglects
the long-term effect of this work on non-European societies. In the eighteenth century, in Latin America (from Mexico and Cuba to Buenos Aires) and in the African
and Asian colonies (from Goa and Cochin to Macau and Manila), almost the entire
system of higher secondary education was made up of Jesuit schools. Some later
became the first universities in those regions, and many of them were the only places
where one could find regular instruction in mathematics.
And even beyond the schools, science spread through the missionary network. In
the areas noted above, and in the French colonies in the North America from
Louisiana to Canada, until the late seventeenth century the missionaries of the
Society were almost the only ones equipped with a nontrivial mathematical education; some used it, in different ways and degrees, as a basis for a “neutral” transcultural and transreligious dialogue with local society. As early as the eighteenth
century, particularly in India and China, this dialogue led to the direct opening of
local scholars to European scientific sources, even for themes and concepts that the
Society had generally neglected or even objected to. Accusations that the missionaries were guilty of ignorance, misunderstanding, or the deliberate suppression of
local science results and methods are often the exact opposite of the real situation.
Also, one should not forget that the missionary effort of the Society was not only
outside Europe but also within Europe, venturing into Protestant and Orthodox
regions. There a similar story of dialogue and outreach can be told, beginning with
the use of textbooks by Clavius and other Jesuits.
2.4 A Note on Quality
Part of the black legend of Jesuit science identifies the Society with being the principal opponent to a number of advances of modern science, such as heliocentrism;
the transition from the natural Aristotelian philosophy to the mathematization of
nature found in the new physics; and, on a more abstract plane, the transition from
the idea of a universe with a guided purpose to a purely deterministic cosmology.
Some of these recurring accusations are well-founded, but it is important to note
that they are mainly attributable to the culture of theologians and philosophers and
sometimes rest on seemingly plausible but in fact questionable inferences.
Frequently the Society has been presented not only as a coherent and combative
defender of the traditional culture—as it certainly was also for nonreligious issues—
but as the protagonist of the repression of heterodox positions with dramatic consequences. The Enlightenment stereotype, which persists in common opinion, gave
the Jesuits a prominent role in the activity of the Roman Holy Office (with the
peripheral inquisitions) and the Index. In fact, every religious order provided counselling to those bodies. The number of Jesuit cardinals who were members of those
2 The Scientific Tradition of the Society of Jesus and the Formation of Angelo Secchi
led almost all those outside Europe, most notably the Imperial Observatory in
Beijing.
Furthermore, judging the Society’s contribution to science outside Central and
Western Europe only in terms of the acquisition of data useful to Europeans neglects
the long-term effect of this work on non-European societies. In the eighteenth century, in Latin America (from Mexico and Cuba to Buenos Aires) and in the African
and Asian colonies (from Goa and Cochin to Macau and Manila), almost the entire
system of higher secondary education was made up of Jesuit schools. Some later
became the first universities in those regions, and many of them were the only places
where one could find regular instruction in mathematics.
And even beyond the schools, science spread through the missionary network. In
the areas noted above, and in the French colonies in the North America from
Louisiana to Canada, until the late seventeenth century the missionaries of the
Society were almost the only ones equipped with a nontrivial mathematical education; some used it, in different ways and degrees, as a basis for a “neutral” transcultural and transreligious dialogue with local society. As early as the eighteenth
century, particularly in India and China, this dialogue led to the direct opening of
local scholars to European scientific sources, even for themes and concepts that the
Society had generally neglected or even objected to. Accusations that the missionaries were guilty of ignorance, misunderstanding, or the deliberate suppression of
local science results and methods are often the exact opposite of the real situation.
Also, one should not forget that the missionary effort of the Society was not only
outside Europe but also within Europe, venturing into Protestant and Orthodox
regions. There a similar story of dialogue and outreach can be told, beginning with
the use of textbooks by Clavius and other Jesuits.
2.4 A Note on Quality
Part of the black legend of Jesuit science identifies the Society with being the principal opponent to a number of advances of modern science, such as heliocentrism;
the transition from the natural Aristotelian philosophy to the mathematization of
nature found in the new physics; and, on a more abstract plane, the transition from
the idea of a universe with a guided purpose to a purely deterministic cosmology.
Some of these recurring accusations are well-founded, but it is important to note
that they are mainly attributable to the culture of theologians and philosophers and
sometimes rest on seemingly plausible but in fact questionable inferences.
Frequently the Society has been presented not only as a coherent and combative
defender of the traditional culture—as it certainly was also for nonreligious issues—
but as the protagonist of the repression of heterodox positions with dramatic consequences. The Enlightenment stereotype, which persists in common opinion, gave
the Jesuits a prominent role in the activity of the Roman Holy Office (with the
peripheral inquisitions) and the Index. In fact, every religious order provided counselling to those bodies. The number of Jesuit cardinals who were members of those
2 The Scientific Tradition of the Society of Jesus and the Formation of Angelo Secchi