Pic: History of Science
However,
simply recognizing regularities does not exhaust science's true significance.
First and foremost, regularities may be purely mental constructions. Humans
jump to conclusions. The mind cannot tolerate disorder, therefore it creates
regularities even when none exist objectively. For example, one of the Middle
Ages' astronomical "laws" was that the sight of comets foreshadowed a
great upheaval, as the Norman Conquest of Britain occurred after the comet of
1066. True regularities must be found through a detached evaluation of facts.
To avoid hasty generalization, science must maintain a certain level of
skepticism.
Regularities, even when
stated mathematically as laws of nature, do not satisfy everyone. Some argue
that genuine comprehension necessitates explanations of the sources of the
laws, but causality is the most contentious issue. Modern quantum mechanics,
for example, has abandoned the pursuit of causality in favor of mathematical
description. Modern biology, on the other hand, relies on causal chains that
allow us to understand physiological and evolutionary processes through the
physical actions of molecules, cells, and organisms. Regularities, even when
stated mathematically as laws of nature, do not satisfy everyone. Some argue
that genuine comprehension necessitates explanations of the sources of the
laws, but causality is the most contentious issue. Modern quantum mechanics,
for example, has abandoned the pursuit of causality in favor of mathematical
description. Modern biology, on the other hand, relies on causal chains that
allow us to understand physiological and evolutionary processes through the
physical actions of molecules, cells, and organisms. Even if causation and
explanation are recognized as important, there is limited consensus on the kind
of causes that are acceptable or possible in science. If the history of science
is to make any sense, it must deal with the past on its own terms, and for the
majority of its history, natural philosophers resorted to reasons that modern
scientists would categorically reject. Spiritual and heavenly powers were
acknowledged as real and necessary until the end of the 18th century, and in
some fields, such as biology, well into the nineteenth century.
Certain traditions governed
appeals to God, the gods, or spirits. It was believed that gods and spirits
could not act arbitrarily. Otherwise, the appropriate answer would be
propitiation rather than rational investigation. However, because the deity or
deities were rational or governed by logical principles, humanity were able to
discover the world's rational order. Faith in the ultimate logic of the world's
creator or governor may actually promote creative scientific research. Kepler's
laws, Newton's absolute space, and Einstein's denial of quantum mechanics'
probabilistic character all relied on theological rather than scientific
assumptions. For sensitive interpreters of experiences, the ultimate
intelligibility of nature appears to necessitate a rational guiding spirit.
Einstein famously stated that the wonder of the world is not that humans
comprehend it, but that it is comprehensible.
Pic: History of Science
However,
simply recognizing regularities does not exhaust science's true significance.
First and foremost, regularities may be purely mental constructions. Humans
jump to conclusions. The mind cannot tolerate disorder, therefore it creates
regularities even when none exist objectively. For example, one of the Middle
Ages' astronomical "laws" was that the sight of comets foreshadowed a
great upheaval, as the Norman Conquest of Britain occurred after the comet of
1066. True regularities must be found through a detached evaluation of facts.
To avoid hasty generalization, science must maintain a certain level of
skepticism.
Regularities, even when
stated mathematically as laws of nature, do not satisfy everyone. Some argue
that genuine comprehension necessitates explanations of the sources of the
laws, but causality is the most contentious issue. Modern quantum mechanics,
for example, has abandoned the pursuit of causality in favor of mathematical
description. Modern biology, on the other hand, relies on causal chains that
allow us to understand physiological and evolutionary processes through the
physical actions of molecules, cells, and organisms. Regularities, even when
stated mathematically as laws of nature, do not satisfy everyone. Some argue
that genuine comprehension necessitates explanations of the sources of the
laws, but causality is the most contentious issue. Modern quantum mechanics,
for example, has abandoned the pursuit of causality in favor of mathematical
description. Modern biology, on the other hand, relies on causal chains that
allow us to understand physiological and evolutionary processes through the
physical actions of molecules, cells, and organisms. Even if causation and
explanation are recognized as important, there is limited consensus on the kind
of causes that are acceptable or possible in science. If the history of science
is to make any sense, it must deal with the past on its own terms, and for the
majority of its history, natural philosophers resorted to reasons that modern
scientists would categorically reject. Spiritual and heavenly powers were
acknowledged as real and necessary until the end of the 18th century, and in
some fields, such as biology, well into the nineteenth century.
Certain traditions governed
appeals to God, the gods, or spirits. It was believed that gods and spirits
could not act arbitrarily. Otherwise, the appropriate answer would be
propitiation rather than rational investigation. However, because the deity or
deities were rational or governed by logical principles, humanity were able to
discover the world's rational order. Faith in the ultimate logic of the world's
creator or governor may actually promote creative scientific research. Kepler's
laws, Newton's absolute space, and Einstein's denial of quantum mechanics'
probabilistic character all relied on theological rather than scientific
assumptions. For sensitive interpreters of experiences, the ultimate
intelligibility of nature appears to necessitate a rational guiding spirit.
Einstein famously stated that the wonder of the world is not that humans
comprehend it, but that it is comprehensible.
Pic: History of Science
In this
article, science is defined as knowledge of natural regularities that is
subjected to some degree of skepticism and explained by rational causes. One
more word of caution is important. Nature can only be understood through the
senses, the most important of which are sight, touch, and hearing, and the
human concept of reality is tilted toward the objects of these senses. The
introduction of equipment such as the telescope, microscope, and Geiger counter
allowed for an ever-widening variety of phenomena to be observed with the
senses. Thus, scientific understanding of the world is only imperfect, and
scientific progress is driven by humans' ability to perceive phenomena.
This
article presents a general overview of the evolution of science as a means of
investigating and comprehending the universe, from the rudimentary stage of
identifying important regularities in nature to the epochal upheaval in the
concept of what constitutes reality that happened in twentieth-century physics.
More thorough histories of certain sciences, covering advances in the late
twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, can be found in the articles
biology, earth science, and physical science.
Science,
as stated above, appeared before writing. As a result, archaeological relics
must be used to deduce the content of that science. Cave paintings and
apparently regular scratches on bone and reindeer horn show that prehistoric
humans were keen observers of nature, keeping track of the seasons and times of
year. Around 2500 BCE, there was a dramatic surge of activity that appears to
have had evident scientific significance. Large stone constructions from that
era may be seen in
Science
is natural philosophy
Pre-critical
science
Great Britain and northwest
Europe, the best famous of which is Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in
England, and they are scientifically significant. Not only do they demonstrate
exceptional technical and social skills—moving such massive blocks of stone over
long distances and placing them in position—but the basic concept of Stonehenge
and other megalithic structures appears to combine religious and astronomical
purposes. Their layouts imply a level of mathematical sophistication that was
initially suspected in the mid-twentieth century. Stonehenge is a circle, but
some of the other megalithic structures are egg-shaped and appear to be built
on mathematical principles that require at least practical knowledge of the
Pythagorean theorem, which states that the square of the hypotenuse of a right
triangle equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides. This theorem, or
at least the Pythagorean numbers it can yield, appears to have been known for
two millennia in Asia, the Middle East, and Neolithic Europe before Pythagoras'
birth
Pic: Science is natural
philosophy
The union
of religion and astronomy was critical to the early history of science. It is
found in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China (to a lower extent than elsewhere), Central
America, and India. The view of the skies, with the plainly evident order and
regularity of most heavenly bodies highlighted by spectacular phenomena such as
comets and novae, as well as the planets' distinctive motions, was undoubtedly
an irresistible intellectual problem to early humans. In its desire for order
and consistency, the human intellect could not do better than to look to the
sky as the prototype of certain knowledge. For the next 4,000 years, astronomy
would reign supreme among the sciences, inextricably linked with theology.
Science, in its mature form, developed only in
the West. But it is instructive to survey the protoscience that appeared in
other areas, especially in light of the fact that until quite recently this
knowledge was often, as in China, far superior to Western science.
China
As has already been said,
astronomy appears to have been the first science to arise. Its close
relationship to religion gave it a ritual character, which fueled the rise of
mathematics. Chinese savants, for example, invented a calendar and methods for
mapping the positions of celestial constellations. Because changes in the
heavens predicted important changes on the Earth (for the Chinese considered
the universe to be a vast organism in which all elements were connected),
astronomy and astrology were incorporated into the system of government from
the very beginning of the Chinese state in the second millennium BCE. As the
Chinese bureaucracy grew, an accurate calendar became critical to the
preservation of legitimacy and order. The outcome was an unequaled system of
astronomical observations and records, which has resulted in star catalogs and
millennia-old eclipse and nova sightings.
Pic: History of science in
China
In other
sciences, the emphasis was also on practicality, because the Chinese, nearly
alone among ancient peoples, did not populate the cosmos with gods and demons
whose arbitrary wills dictated events. Order was intrinsic and thus expected.
Humans were responsible for detecting, describing, and profiting from this
order. The state encouraged and cultivated chemistry (or, rather, alchemy),
medicine, geology, geography, and technology. Practical knowledge of the
highest kind enabled the Chinese to cope with practical difficulties for ages
at a level not achieved in the West until the Renaissance.
India
Astronomy
was studied in India for calendar purposes, such as setting the time for
practical and religious chores. The fixed stars served as a backdrop against
which these luminaries moved, with the solar and lunar motions taking
precedence. Indian mathematics appears to have been extremely advanced, with a
special focus on geometrical and algebraic approaches. The flexibility of the
Indian numeration system, which later became known as Hindu-Arabic numerals in
the West, probably influenced the latter branch.
America
Quite
independently of China, India, and the major civilizations of Europe and Asia,
the Maya of Central America, building on ancient cultures, built a complex
society in which astronomy and astrology were vital. Calendar determination was
important for both practical and religious reasons. Solar and lunar eclipses
were significant, as was the location of the bright planet Venus. Although
there is little evidence of advanced mathematics linked with this astronomy,
the Mayan calendar was both creative and the result of diligent observation.
The Middle East
In the cradles of Western
civilization, Egypt and Mesopotamia, there were two quite distinct conditions.
In Egypt, a plethora of beneficent gods were believed to ensure cosmic order.
Unlike China, where the difficult terrain frequently resulted in terrible
floods, earthquakes, and fierce storms that ruined crops, Egypt was exceedingly
peaceful and enjoyable. Egyptians found it difficult to accept that everything
ended with death. As a result, enormous intellectual and physical effort was
expended in preserving life beyond death. Both Egyptian theology and the
pyramids provide witness to this obsession. Religion provided answers to all of
the important concerns, thus the Egyptians were not overly concerned with
cosmic speculation. Middle East
The stars and planets had
astrological significance in that the major heavenly bodies were assumed to
"rule" the land when they were in the ascendant (from the succession
of these "rules" came the seven-day week, following the five planets,
the Sun, and the Moon), but astronomy was largely limited to the calendrical
calculations required to predict the annual life-giving flood of the Nile. None
of this needed any mathematics, thus there was little of any significance.
Pic: history of science in
middle east
Mesopotamia
was more like China. The land's life depended on two huge rivers, the Tigris
and the Euphrates, just as China's depended on the Huang, He (Yellow River) and
the Yangtze. The soil was hard, and only major damming and irrigation could
make it habitable. Storms, insects, floods, and invasions made life
unpredictable. To construct a stable civilization, tremendous technological
expertise was required, such as the creation of hydraulic works, as well as the
ability to withstand disruptive forces. These latter were first associated with
powerful and arbitrary gods that dominated Mesopotamian theology. The plain's
settlements were centered on temples administered by a priestly caste whose
tasks included the planning of significant public works, like as canals and
dams.
Mathematics
and astronomy flourished under these conditions. The number system, which was
most likely derived from the weights and coinage system, was based on 60 (the
system of degrees, minutes, and seconds originated in ancient Mesopotamia) and
was tailored to practical mathematics. The heavens were the gods' residence,
and because heavenly events were considered to predict terrestrial tragedies,
they were meticulously monitored and documented. Out of these processes arose,
first, a highly developed mathematics that went well beyond the requirements of
daily commerce, and then, centuries later, a descriptive astronomy that was the
most advanced in the ancient world until the Greeks took over and refined it.
Nothing
is known about these early mathematicians' motivations for doing their research
beyond calculating the amounts of dirt to be removed from canals and the
provisions required for work parties. It could have just been intellectual
play—the importance of playfulness in the history of science should not be
underestimated—that led them to abstract algebra. There are manuscripts from
around 1700 BCE that are notable for their mathematical versatility. Babylonian
mathematicians were very familiar with the Pythagorean relationship and
employed it frequently. They were able to solve simple quadratic equations as
well as compound interest issues using exponents. Texts written around a millennium
later use these talents to create a very complex mathematical account of
astronomical occurrences.
Although China and Mesopotamia demonstrate detailed observation and description
of nature, scientific understanding is lacking. The Chinese believed in a
cosmic order that was loosely based on the balance of opposing energies
(yin-yang) and the harmony of the five elements. Why this concord was achieved
was not explained. Similarly, the Egyptians believed that the world was
harmonious because the gods intended it to be. Babylonians and other
Mesopotamian societies believed that order persisted only as long as
all-powerful and capricious gods supported it. In all of these societies,
humans could describe and use nature, but understanding it relied on religion
and magic rather than reason. The Greeks were the first to seek explanations
for natural occurrences that did not rely on the gods' capricious will. Gods
may still play a role, as they did for ages, but even they are subject to
rational laws.
Greek science
The origin of natural philosophy
There appears to be no good reason why the Hellenes, who lived in isolated
city-states in a relatively poor and backward land, should have ventured into
intellectual regions that were only dimly perceived, if at all, by the
magnificent civilizations of the Yangtze, Tigris and Euphrates, and Nile
valleys. There were many differences between ancient Greece and other
civilizations, but religion was probably the most significant. What
distinguishes Greek religion from Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions is its
puerility. Both of the great river civilizations developed elaborate theologies
that addressed the majority, if not all, of the big questions regarding
humanity's position and future. Greek religion did not. It was essentially
a compilation of folk tales, more fit for a campfire than a temple. Perhaps
this was the result of the collapse of a previous Greek civilization, the
Mycenaeans, toward the end of the second millennium BCE, when the Dark Age
descended on Greece and lasted three centuries. All that remained were myths
about gods and men carried down by poets, which only weakly resembled Mycenaean
values and occurrences. Such were Homer's famous writings, the Iliad and
Odyssey, in which heroes and gods interacted freely. Indeed, they mingled
far too freely, for the gods appear in these tales to be little more than
immortal adolescents whose pranks and deeds pale in comparison to those of a
Marduk or Jehovah. There was no Greek religion in the sense that it provides a logical
and comprehensive explanation of how the universe and the human heart work. As
a result, there were no easy solutions for questioning Greek minds. As a
result, there was plenty of potential for a more in-depth and, ultimately, more
fulfilling form of inquiry. Thus, philosophy and its eldest offspring, science,
were born.
Thales of Miletus, who
lived in the sixth century BCE, is regarded as the first natural philosopher in
Hellenic tradition. We only know about him from later accounts, as nothing he penned
has remained. He is said to have predicted a solar eclipse in 585 BCE and
created the formal science of geometry with his demonstration of dividing a
circle by its diameter. Most crucially, he attempted to explain all known
natural processes in terms of the changes in a single material, water, which
can exist in solid, liquid, and gaseous phases. Thales believed that the innate
divinity in all things guided them to their divinely destined goals, which
ensured the world's regularity and logic. These principles resulted in two
aspects of classical Greek science. The first was the idea of the universe as
an organized structure (Kosmos is Greek for "order"). The second was
the conviction that this order was not that of a mechanical contraption, but
that of an organism: all parts of the universe served a purpose in the grand
scheme of things, and objects moved naturally toward the ends they were meant
to serve. This move toward ends is known as teleology, and it penetrated both
Greek and much later science, with few exceptions.
Pic:Greek science
Thales unintentionally made another major
contribution to the advancement of natural knowledge. Thales opened himself up
to criticism, which came quickly. His own teacher, Anaximander, was quick to
point out that water could not be the basic ingredient. His logic was
straightforward: water, if anything, is inherently wet; nothing can be its own
contradiction. As a result, if Thales is accurate, the reverse of moist cannot
exist in a substance, ruling out all dry objects in the world. Therefore,
Thales was incorrect. Here was the genesis of the critical tradition, which is
crucial to the advancement of science.
Thales’ conjectures set off
an intellectual explosion, most of which was devoted to increasingly refined criticisms of his doctrine of
fundamental matter. Various single substances were proposed and then rejected,
ultimately in Favor of a multiplicity of elements that could account for such
opposite qualities as wet and dry, hot and cold. Two centuries after Thales,
most natural philosophers accepted a doctrine of four elements: earth (cold and
dry), fire (hot and dry), water (cold and wet), and air (hot and wet). All
bodies were made from these four.
The presence of the elements simply ensured the presence of their
properties in varying proportions. What was overlooked was the shape these
elements took, which served to distinguish natural objects from one another. In
the sixth century BCE, the philosopher and cult leader Pythagoras launched the
first systematic attack on the problem of form. According to legend, Pythagoras
became convinced of the primacy of number when he discovered that the musical
notes generated by a monochord were proportional to the length of the string.
Qualities (tones) were reduced to quantities (integral ratios). Thus,
mathematical physics was formed, as this discovery supplied the critical link
between the world of physical experience and that of numerical connections.
Number answered the question about the genesis of forms and attributes.
Aristotle & Archimedes
Thales and Pythagoras established the basis of Hellenic knowledge.
It reaches its pinnacle in the writings of Aristotle and Archimedes. Aristotle
represents the first tradition, which emphasizes qualitative forms and teleology.
He was a biologist who made unparalleled studies of sea species till the
nineteenth century. Biology is primarily teleological—the parts of a live
organism are understood in terms of what they perform inside and for the
organism—and Aristotle's biological works served as the foundation for science
until the time of Charles Darwin. In physics, teleology is less clear, thus
Aristotle had to force it on the universe. He learned from his instructor,
Plato, that the heavenly bodies (stars and planets) are actually divine and so
perfect. They could only move in perfect, eternal, and unchanging motion, which
Plato defined as perfect circles. The Earth, being clearly not divine and
lifeless, was at the center. Everything, from the Earth to the Moon's sphere,
was continually changing, forming new forms before disintegrating back into
formlessness. He learned from his master, Plato, that the heavenly bodies
(stars and planets) are divine and perfect. They could only move in flawless,
eternal, and unchanging motion, which Plato described as perfect circles. The
Earth, which was clearly neither divine nor lifeless, was at the core.
Everything, from the Earth to the Moon's sphere, was constantly altering,
forming new shapes before disintegrating back into formlessness.
Pic:History of
science in Aristotle & Archimedes
Aristotle was able to make a lot of sense out of
observed nature by asking questions about each thing or process: what is the
material involved, what is its form and how did it get that shape, and, most importantly,
what is its purpose? It is worth noting that Aristotle considered all
spontaneous activity to be natural. As a result, observation served as the
appropriate method of study. Experimentation, or modifying natural conditions
in order to shed light on the hidden features and activities of objects, was
unnatural and hence could not be anticipated to uncover the essence of things.
Experimentation was thus not necessary for Greek science.
Aristotle was able to make a lot of sense out of
observed nature by asking questions about each thing or process: what is the
material involved, what is its form and how did it get that shape, and, most
importantly, what is its purpose? It is worth noting that Aristotle considered
all spontaneous activity to be natural. As a result, observation served as the
appropriate method of study. Experimentation, or modifying natural conditions
in order to shed light on the hidden features and activities of objects, was
unnatural and hence could not be anticipated to uncover the essence of things.
Experimentation was thus not necessary for Greek science.
In one significant area, the Aristotelian and Archimedean views
were forced into an awkward marriage. Astronomy was the main physical science
in antiquity, but it had never been reduced to a coherent framework. The
Platonic-Aristotelian astral religion required that planetary orbits be
circular. However, especially after Alexander the Great's conquests made
Babylonian observations and mathematical tools available to the Greeks, astronomers
found it impossible to reconcile theory and observation. Astronomy was
then divided into two branches: one was physical and accepted Aristotelian
theory in accounting for heavenly motion, while the other ignored causation and
focused primarily on developing a mathematical model that could be used to
calculate planetary positions. In the 2nd century CE, Ptolemy's He mathēmatikē
syntaxis ("The Mathematical Collection," also known as Almagest in
Greek-Arabic) was the pinnacle of this tradition.
Medicine
The Greeks not only achieved significant
advances in understanding the universe, but they also considerably exceeded
their predecessors' grasp of the human body. Pre-Greek medicine was nearly
exclusively limited to religion and ritual. Disease was thought to be the
result of divine disfavour and human sin, and it could be treated with spells,
prayers, and other forms of propitiation. In the fifth century BCE, a
revolutionary development occurred that is connected with the name Hippocrates.
Hippocrates and his school, influenced by the advent of natural philosophy,
were the first to argue that sickness was a natural, rather than supernatural,
event. Even conditions as dramatic as epilepsy, whose episodes appeared to be
divinely induced, were thought to have natural causes within the body.
Pic:History of science in
medicine
The height of medical science in antiquity
occurred late in the Hellenistic period. Much work was done in the Museum of
Alexandria, a research facility established under Greek influence in Egypt in
the third century BCE to promote learning in general. The heart, circulatory
system, nerves, and brain were all probed. The organs of the thoracic cavity
were characterized, and efforts were made to determine their roles. Galen of Pergamon,
the last great physician of antiquity, based his physiology on these studies as well as his own dissections of apes and pigs.
It was essentially a tripartite system in which
so-called spirits—natural, vital, and animal—passed through the veins, arteries,
and nerves to revitalize the entire body. Galen's attempts to correlate
therapies with his physiology were unsuccessful, therefore medical practice
remained eclectic and at the discretion of the physician. The Hippocratic
typically advocated for simple, clean living and the body's ability to cure
itself.
Science in Rome and Christianity
The peak of Greek knowledge, as recorded in the works of
Archimedes and Euclid, coincided with the development of Roman authority in the
Mediterranean region. The Romans were immensely captivated by Greek art,
literature, philosophy, and science, and after conquering Greece, many Greek
scholars became household slaves, instructing noble Roman children. The Romans,
on the other hand, were practical people, and while they were impressed by
Greek intellectual prowess, they couldn't help but wonder what it had done for
the Greeks. Roman common sense was what kept Rome great; science and philosophy
were either disregarded or given a low rank. Even Cicero, a Hellenophile, used
Greek thought to reinforce traditional Roman practices rather than to generate
new ideas and perspectives.
The spirit of autonomous
research was foreign to the Roman intellect, therefore scientific advancement
came to a halt. The scientific legacy of Greece was compacted and distorted
into Roman encyclopedias whose primary purpose was amusement rather than
enlightenment. Pliny the Elder, a 1st-century-CE nobleman, exemplified this
ethos in his Natural History, a multivolume compendium of myths, strange tales
of amazing creatures, magic, and some science, all jumbled together naively for
the entertainment of other nobles. Aristotle would have been embarrassed by it.
Pic:History of science
in Christianity
At its peak, Rome's empire
included a diverse range of peoples with distinct customs, languages, and
beliefs. Christianity emerged as the most major religious sect. Jesus and his
kingdom were not of this world; but his disciples and followers were. This
universe could not be ignored, even if it was potentially harmful to the soul.
So, the early Christians treated the worldly wisdom of their time with
ambivalence: on the one hand, the rhetoric and reasoning of ancient philosophy
were snares and delusions that could mislead the simple and the unwary;
However, the smart and educated of the empire could not be converted unless the
Christian message was given in the terminology and rhetoric of the
philosophical schools. Before they realized it, the early Christians were
embroiled in philosophical debates, some of which concerned physics. For
example, what was Jesus' physical nature? How could somebody have two essential
natures, as claimed for Jesus? Such questions demonstrated the importance of
understanding Greek thinkers' arguments about the nature of substance for those
attempting to establish a new theology.
However, the smart and
educated of the empire could not be converted unless the Christian message was
given in the terminology and rhetoric of the philosophical schools. Before they
realized it, the early Christians were embroiled in philosophical debates, some
of which concerned physics. For example, what was Jesus' physical nature? How
could somebody have two essential natures, as claimed for Jesus? Such questions
demonstrated the importance of understanding Greek thinkers' arguments about
the nature of substance for those attempting to establish a new theology. There
was little creative work done in the millennium that followed Rome's fall, but
the ancient books and knowledge of the ancient Greek language survived. This
was to be a valuable repository of knowledge for the Latin West in subsequent
centuries.
Science in Islam
Pic:History of science in Islam.
The torch of old learning was first given to one of the invading
forces that helped bring down the Eastern Empire. In the seventh century,
driven by their new religion, the Arabs exploded out of the Arabian Peninsula,
laying the groundwork for an Islamic empire that eventually rivaled that of
ancient Rome. Ancient science was considered a valuable resource by the Arabs.
The Qur'an, Islam's sacred text, hailed medicine as a divine skill. Astronomy
and astrology were thought to be one way of discerning what God intended for
humanity. Contact with Hindu mathematics and the requirements of astronomy
prompted the study of numbers and geometry. As a result, the Hellenes' texts
were eagerly sought and translated, and much of ancient science made its way
into Islamic civilization. By the end of the ninth century, Islam had
integrated Greek medicine, astronomy and astrology, and mathematics, as well as
Plato's and Aristotle's important philosophical works. The Arabs did not
stop at assimilation. They criticised and innovated. Islamic astronomy and
astrology were facilitated by the establishment of large astronomical
observatories that gave reliable observations against which Ptolemaic
predictions could be tested. Numbers intrigued Islamic scholars, which
motivated the development of algebra (from Arabic al-jabr) and the study of
algebraic functions.
0 Comments