Nicole Oresme and Medieval Social Science The 14th Century Debunker of Astrology Wrote an Early Monetary Treatise

A bstract . Nicole Oresme practised the medieval equivalent of the modern sociological technique of debunking. He was born about 1320 and attended the College of Navarre in Paris. King John II and especially his son, Charles V, were patrons of Oresme's work. In a period when astrology was the dominant paradigm in the explanation of human behavior , Oresme wrote extensively denouncing it. His attacks were based on reason and experience, and went beyond the turgid scholastic form. He is particularly well known for his work in economics , one of the first integrated treatises on money policy. In Oresme we see a new sort of scientist emerging. He represents the transition from philosophical science to a science based on facts.