{"page_number":117,"title":"Page 117","overview":"This page provides a biographical and intellectual overview of Nicole Oresme, a 14th-century French scholar. It details his contributions as a translator, economist, philosopher, and mathematician, highlighting his critiques of Aristotelian thought and his pioneering work on monetary theory and the concept of rational and irrational powers.","text_summary":"The text focuses on Nicole Oresme (c. 1320–1382), a significant figure in medieval scholarship. It begins by noting his role in 1370, at the behest of King Charles V of France, translating key Aristotelian works such as *Ethics*, *Politics*, and *On the Heavens*, as well as the pseudo-Aristotelian *Economics*, from Latin into French. This effort significantly influenced the French language and philosophical terminology. Oresme later became the bishop of Lisieux in 1377.\n\nAs an economist, Oresme presented his ideas in commentaries on the aforementioned works and, more notably, in his treatise *De origine, natura, jure et mutationibus monetarum* (c. 1360), also known as \"On the Origin, Nature, Juridical Status and Variations of Coinage.\" In this work, he argued that coinage is a public asset, not solely the prince's, and opposed the arbitrary debasement of currency's content or weight. His insights profoundly influenced Charles V's monetary and tax policies, establishing Oresme as a leading medieval economist.\n\nPhilosophically, Oresme was a prominent scholastic thinker known for critiquing several Aristotelian tenets. He rejected Aristotle's definition of a body's place, favoring instead the concept of the surrounding medium. Similarly, he challenged Aristotle's definition of time as the measure of motion, proposing that time is the successive duration of things, independent of motion.\n\nIn mathematics, Oresme was a staunch opponent of astrology, which he attacked on both religious and scientific grounds. His work *De proportionibus proportionum* (\"On Ratios of Ratios\") explored the concept of raising rational numbers to rational powers. He further extended this inquiry to include irrational powers, terming the results \"irrational ratios.\" He distinguished between these, considering the first type (rational numbers raised to rational powers) commensurable with rational numbers, and the latter (involving irrational powers) incommensurable.","content_markdown":"# Page 117\n\n### Page Overview\nThis page provides a biographical and intellectual overview of Nicole Oresme, a 14th-century French scholar. It details his contributions as a translator, economist, philosopher, and mathematician, highlighting his critiques of Aristotelian thought and his pioneering work on monetary theory and the concept of rational and irrational powers.\n\n### Text Content Summary\nThe text focuses on Nicole Oresme (c. 1320–1382), a significant figure in medieval scholarship. It begins by noting his role in 1370, at the behest of King Charles V of France, translating key Aristotelian works such as *Ethics*, *Politics*, and *On the Heavens*, as well as the pseudo-Aristotelian *Economics*, from Latin into French. This effort significantly influenced the French language and philosophical terminology. Oresme later became the bishop of Lisieux in 1377.\n\nAs an economist, Oresme presented his ideas in commentaries on the aforementioned works and, more notably, in his treatise *De origine, natura, jure et mutationibus monetarum* (c. 1360), also known as \"On the Origin, Nature, Juridical Status and Variations of Coinage.\" In this work, he argued that coinage is a public asset, not solely the prince's, and opposed the arbitrary debasement of currency's content or weight. His insights profoundly influenced Charles V's monetary and tax policies, establishing Oresme as a leading medieval economist.\n\nPhilosophically, Oresme was a prominent scholastic thinker known for critiquing several Aristotelian tenets. He rejected Aristotle's definition of a body's place, favoring instead the concept of the surrounding medium. Similarly, he challenged Aristotle's definition of time as the measure of motion, proposing that time is the successive duration of things, independent of motion.\n\nIn mathematics, Oresme was a staunch opponent of astrology, which he attacked on both religious and scientific grounds. His work *De proportionibus proportionum* (\"On Ratios of Ratios\") explored the concept of raising rational numbers to rational powers. He further extended this inquiry to include irrational powers, terming the results \"irrational ratios.\" He distinguished between these, considering the first type (rational numbers raised to rational powers) commensurable with rational numbers, and the latter (involving irrational powers) incommensurable.\n\n### Visual Elements (Diagrams, Figures, Graphs, Portraits, Illustrations)\n*No visual elements on this page.*","has_visuals":0,"visual_count":0,"visuals":[]}