Where is the origin of the development of science?

In some earlier discussions of friends it was argued that the Islamic philosopher Averroes is the "father of scientific exploration" in the West. I wish to contribute to this discussion here.
Averroes contributed to the commentary on Aristotle, but the giant who introduced Aristotle to the Western mind is St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas synthesized the Aristotelian thought with Plato's ideas and retrieved the good from both philosophers and created his own Christian philosophy based on St. Albert the Great, with thoughts from St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. John of Damascus, St. Augustine and others. However, the idea that God, while being the first cause of every creature, works through secondary natural causes first appeared in the works of Aristotle. Here the Greek thought of Aristotle was adopted by St. Thomas excluding such ideas as that the created world was eternal. Historians argue that a number of Greek Catholics in south Italy had brought Aristotle's work to Europe in the 11th century, but Averroes was simply a translator and commentator who happened to live in Cordoba/Andalusia. He arguably made errors in philosophy in view of the monotheistic philosophies. 

The advances in science were the result of many developments in the Western mind. 

St. Thomas Aquinas remains the most outstanding philosopher in history who in spite of grave challenges in the academic and Roman circles persisted in defending his synthesis. He advanced scientific exploration but other contributing factors to advance scientific exploration include the reforms in economic systems such as banks as lenders with interest, the 12th-13th centuries humanism reforms by such movements as the Franciscans and mendicant orders, the Renaissance movement which retrieved the good in Roman and Greek Classics, as well as a unified force in the Papacy that guaranteed a systematic and realist evaluation of the development of knowledge against tradition. 

Now look at a fragmented Christian/Muslim East in that entire history, and you get a better idea why it has not advanced. The scientific method with a humanist outlook must be integrated in constitutions and laws, and taught to students in countries of the Middle East. Unity and security are important. We are in a complex and interconnected world and cannot go back to ages of the simple mind.

When you argue, make sure that you have the libraries and resources that will back up your argument from history.