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Transposing the Merton Thesis: Apostolic Spirituality and the Establishment of the Jesuit Scientific Tradition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Steven J. Harris
Steven J. Harris
Affiliation:
Department of the History of ScienceHarvard University
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Abstract

Despite more than fifty years of debate on the Merton thesis, there have been few attempts to substantiate Merton's argument through empirically based comparative studies. This study of the Jesuit scientific tradition is intended to serve as a test of some of Merton's central claims.

Jesuit science is remarkable for its scope and longevity, and is distinguished by its markedly empirical and utilitarian orientation. In this paper I examine the ideological structure of the Society of Jesus and find at its core an “apostolic spirituality” that explains the legitimation of these forms of science within the Society. The values of apostolic spirituality (diligence, practicality, learning, etc.) strongly encouraged an activist mentality among Jesuits, which in turn led to the formation of apostolates in education, at court, and in the overseas missions. The values associated with apostolic spirituality led to the initial acceptance of active-empirical sciences within the Society, which became established as traditions because they were useful in fulfilling the goals of the Society's apostolates.

This study, by providing a qualified confirmation of Merton's central claims, suggests the importance of a supra-confessional sanctification of labor and learning in the growth of active-empirical sciences.

Type
Article
Information
Science in Context , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , Spring 1989 , pp. 29 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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