in the following century, knowledgemaking was centralized and in research universities, beginning the germie germany, theology was marginalized and knowledge was increasingly secularized. this process was complete by the early 20th century, accept among catholic universities which followed through. none of the chapters is meant to stand alone from the others. together they comprise a whole that endeavors to explain many features of the western world, as the unintended, long-term outcome, of diverse rejections as well as retentions and appropriations of -- to study the past and the influence on the presence and to shed new light on the character of some present problems and to question some of the basic assumptions that frame contemporary intellectual life, by understanding where the assumptions come from and what they're based on. the conclusionen did he evers to view the six chapters synoptic include and offers final reflections. like the book as a whole, it hopes to make good on the words of john noonan, looking intently at the past can improve our present vision. not many readers a