Ma`rifat Adyan

It is commonly believed that the empirical method distinguishes modern science from other humanities discipline. This belief automatically leads to the idea that empiricism, which is considered as a method twinned with modern science, has developed in the period of scientific revolution. However, historical studies show that empiricism did not develop in the midst of the emergence of modern science in the scientific revolution, but came to existence following the theological disputes in the late medieval era. Expounding this point contributes to clarifying the relationship between science and religion. Evidence shows that Christian theologians, who were theologically motivated, raised some issues that prepared the ground for the development of empiricism. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the present paper studies the causes behind the development of empiricism among Christian theologians in the late medieval centuries. The research results show that in that era, three major factors related to theological motivations contributed to the emergence of empiricism: criticisms of the generalities, criticism of Aristotelian metaphysics and the distinction between analytic propositions and synthetic propositions. This study also establishes the relationship between empiricism and Christian theology in the late medieval centuries.