L'utile de l'entendement et l'utile de l'action

In the xv^th and xvi^th centuries the Humanist movement transformed the curriculum into a form more apt to the needs of the new student population of the arts. In particular, what was the actual utility of mathematics in the new encyclopedia? It is Ramus who gave the most explicit answer: after the fall of aristotelian ontology, nobody could count anymore on the classical distinction between theory and practice, between speculation and action, but it was necessary to introduce a new order founded on the most fundamental human knowledge,mathesis. This is the first and irreplaceable utility of mathematics. The mathematical arts traditionally belonging to mathematics are reformed within this new encyclopedia and the humanist is supposed to know their principles and their utility for action.