Medieval critical method never extended to history or social sciences

Evidence

On the general question it is worth noting that in the field of natural science reliance on authorities was criticised explicitly (for example, by Adelard of Bath, de quaestionibus naturalibus) and also implicitly by the adoption of experimental methods (cf. Crombie, Robert Grossgteste); it may also be said that critical methods were applied to theology and philosophy; but they were never applied to history or to sciences of which the existence was not recognised, such as sociology or comparative religion. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2409

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader historiography of how critical/experimental method arose unevenly across disciplines — echoes Kuhn’s structure of scientific revolutions and the sociology of knowledge.