The Medieval Origin of the Ph.D. Dissertation

This blog post explores the historical connections between the medieval academic disputation method and the modern Ph.D. dissertation. It draws on the life of George Starkey, a 17th-century alchemist, to illustrate how Scholastic methods evolved into contemporary scientific practices. The author raises questions about the transition from disputations to dissertations and highlights a need for further research to clarify this relationship. The discussion reflects the author's personal journey of inquiry and the influence of German universities in shaping the modern educational landscape.