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Abstract

The ultimate objective of this work is to demonstrate that it is possible to reconsider the
emergence of modern science as a process of disintegration of the quadrivium, which was
considered a stable scheme for the organization of knowledge. The argument considers
the quadrivium according to the Boethian systematization that was used to organize the
curricula of the late medieval universities. This argument follows the development of each
of its disciplines and illustrates the practical turn they underwent. The period between
the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries is explored, and shows that during this period,
the quadrivium potentially included a fifth autonomous discipline, calendric. The article
concludes by describing epistemological considerations to the mechanisms of disintegration of knowledge structures