s' edition that was first published in Venice in 1482 after the invention of the printing press and this became the chief textbook of the mathematical schools of Europe.
Adelard wrote a short treatise on the use of the abacus (Regulae abaci). He also wrote arithmetic books, the earliest of which, based on the work of Boethius, was written before he studied Arabic arithmetic. His Latin version of a treatise on Arabic arithmetic by al-Khwarizmi, the great Saracen mathematician whose name is associated with an important influence in the later European adoption of the Arabic notation for numbers replacing the intractable Roman numerals.
Adelard was a pioneer of the scientific renaissance of the twelfth century, one of the first to call for observation, experimentation, and innovation rather than blind acceptance of authority on scientific questions. His writings include speculation that animals must have souls because they possess the power of judgment, and the first known written account of the distillation of alcohol. He followed Galen and the Arabian physicians in attempting to localize mental functions. Adelard's Perdifficiles Quaestiones Naturales (Natural Questions) (first mass-printed in 1472) consisted of 76 scientific discussions based on Arabic science which are presented in the form of a dialog between himself and a nephew, which lasted from 1113 to 1133. Adelard considered the shape of the Earth which he believed to be round, and the question of how Earth remains stationary in space. He asked the question of how far a rock would fall if it were dropped into a hole drilled through the earth. (See: center of gravity) He theorized that matter could not be destroyed, (see: Law of conservation of matter), and examined the question of why water experiences difficulty flowing out of a container that has been turned upside down. Many of these questions reflected the popular culture of the time.
In the field of astronomy, Adelard translated al-Khwarizmi's tables (Kharismian Tables), which became the first Latin astronomical tables of the Arabic type with their Greek influences and Indian symbols, and an Arabic Introduction to Astronomy; and wrote a short treatise on the astrolabe, which used the position of stars for navigation.
In De eodem et diverso Adelard defends philosophy and the use of reason. This work is divided into two parts: the first is a debate between Philocosmia, the lover of the world, who defends the realm of the senses, and Philosophia, the lover of wisdom, who defends the realm of the intellect. Philosophia wins the debate, and the second part of De eodem et diverso is devoted to the description of her “handmaidens,” the seven liberal arts.
In the first part, Adelard attempts to reconcile Plato and Aristotle in Philosophia’s reply to an accusation by Philocosmia that even the greatest of philosophers do not agree, by differentiating between the role of imagination and the role of reason in human understanding. Aristotle contends that individual, species, and genus can all be understood through the senses, while Plato considers species and genus to exist outside the individual. Adelard describes how the concepts of genus, species, and individual are applied to the same essence according to levels of understanding. The “individual” can be understood as unique and substantial through the senses. When a philosopher uses reason and imagination to compare individuals and discovers certain commonalities among certain individuals, he understands the “species” and the broader category of “genus” to which the individual belongs. However, imagination can get in the way of a correct understanding, and only the divine mind (Noys) truly understands all the implications contained in the concepts of ”species” and “genus.” An uneducated, common man uses only his senses to gather information concerning individuals, whereas an educated man uses reason and imagination to capture the distinctions of species and genus.
She rules over our senses in such a way that they prefer to serve her alone. She has taught people to feas