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Hellenophilia versus the History of Science
... Desde configurações políticas até metodologias científicas, muitos aspectos da vida contemporânea parecem carregar heranças gregas diretas, apesar da ausência de evidências que confirmem isto (Harloe;Momigliano, 2018;Lima, 2019;Pingree, 1992;Høyrup, 1996). ...
... Segundo Pingree (1992), mesmo no campo acadêmico, espaço para refutação e crítica desta ideia, é possível encontrar produções que reforçam a pretensa grandeza do papel grego como berço do conhecimento. Em diversos compêndios acerca da história da matemática (Boyer, 1974;Eves, 2011), nota-se uma maior atenção às produções gregas, seguidas das mesopotâmicas e egípcias, ignorando quase que por completo outros povos que certamente produziram conteúdos relacionados a matemática durante o mesmo período. ...
... Se inicialmente as evidências eram fraudadas, buscando corresponder a fixação explícita pelos gregos Antigos, atualmente, com o fenômeno já consolidado, a helenofilia opera de modo mais sutil. Pingree (1992) mapeia as consequências dessa obsessão, que parece gerar uma espécie de miopia social, mantendo como verdade uma história baseada em proposições falsas. As falácias geradas e sustentadas a ISSN 1980-4415 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980 ...
Resumo A matemática escolar é normalmente associada a um conjunto de procedimentos formais que tem relação com o raciocínio dedutivo, a linguagem algébrica e a abstração. Não negamos a importância destes para o desenvolvimento matemático, porém, são estes mesmos elementos que podem gerar dificuldades de aprendizagem em matemática, já que, em muitas situações, os estudantes não compreendem os sentidos dos conceitos que estão aprendendo. A história nos mostra que muitos conceitos matemáticos surgiram de situações vividas e necessidades vivenciadas por distintas culturas ao longo do tempo. Contudo, a história é apresentada a partir de um olhar colonial e, por isso, tem contribuído para manter uma forma muito específica de se ensinar esta disciplina, colaborando para tornar a matemática distante e pouco significativa para os estudantes. Discutimos como a história da matemática tem reconfigurado e apagado distintas formas de saberes e fazeres - aqui exemplificadas através do mito do surgimento da matemática na Grécia antiga e do pensamento numérico dos palicures - construindo uma ideia de universalidade e a impossibilidade de aceitação de outros conhecimentos fora do cânone. Para este debate, mobilizamos conceitos como helenofilia, helenomania, colonialismo, colonialidade, decolonialidade, monoculturas da mente, educação problematizadora e pedagogia decolonial. O intuito deste artigo é trazer uma reflexão de como a história da matemática tem sido apresentada e, por isso, contribuído para manter uma forma muito específica de se ensinar esta disciplina, colaborando para tornar a matemática distante e pouco significativa para os estudantes.
... The divining practices and their cultural embedding differ widely, but what is most important is that within their cultural contexts, any particular form of divination is a shared, systematic approach to knowledge that is not otherwise attainable. Divination systems are, in fact, considered by some scholars to be sciences [22]. ...
... (The symbolism introduced in Fig. 1 involving C i and c ij is, of course, mine, not theirs.) Eight additional columns are generated according to the following algorithm: The order of generation follows [7,[21][22][23][24][25][26]. As these, the descendants, are generated, they are placed below the mother-sikidy so that the final tableau is as shown in Fig. 2. The referents for the 16 C i are listed in Fig. 3. Using an arbitrary set of data for C 1 to C 4 , Fig. 4 shows an example of a tableau. ...
... sea-going trade involving the southwest coast of India, the Persian Gulf, and the east coast of Africa in the 9th or 10th century C.E. However or whenever the interaction occurred, the Arabic connection is certain; not only is it reiterated in the sikidy origin myth, but Malagasy divination is intertwined with Islamic day and month names and Arabic script [3,[278][279][280][281][282][283]10;17,Ch. 3;23,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. ...
Sikidyis a system of divination that plays a significant role in the lives of the people of Madagascar. Here we focus on the mathematical ideas which it embodies. Formal algebraic algorithms are applied to initial random data, and knowledge of the internal logic of the resulting array enables the diviner to check for and detect errors.Sikidyand the mathematical ideas within it are placed in their cultural and historical contexts.Copyright 1997 Academic Press. Sikidyest un système de divination qui joue un rôle important dans la vie des Malgaches. Notre article porte sur les idées mathématiques que ce système renferme. Des algorithmes algébriques formels sont appliqués à des données initiales recueillies au hasard et la connaissance de la logique interne du tableau qui en résulte permet au devin de chercher et de détecter les erreurs.Sikidyet les idées mathématiques qu'il contient sont placés dans leurs contextes culturel et historique.Copyright 1997 Academic Press. Sikidyist ein Weissagungssystem, das eine bedeutende Rolle im Leben der Einwohner von Madagaskar spielt. Hier untersuchen wir die mathematischen Ideen, die es enthält. Formale algebraische Algorithmen werden auf zunächst wahllose Daten angewandt. Die Kenntnis der inneren Logik der daraus entstehenden Muster ermöglicht es dem Weissager, Fehler zu suchen und zu finden.Sikidyund die mathematischen Ideen, die darin enthalten sind, werden in ihrem kulturellen und historischen Kontext behandelt.
... 1 On Hellenism's mistaking of the Greek heritage, as well as its ignoring of other influences, as from India, see D.Pingree, 1992. "Hellenophilia Versus the History of Science." ...
... Moreover, creativity and transformation brought about by 11 the constant ßow of knowledge from one place to another were prerequisites for the progress of scientiÞc knowledge . The new areas of focus for 12 research included the close connection between scientiÞc and technological endeavors and British imperialism in the 19th century, the effects of colonial rule on indigenous knowledge and institutions, and, lastly, the contribution of Indian and British scholars to establishing institutions and scientiÞc knowledge. The nature of the link between European and non-European civilizations has been made more evident by postcolonial studies. ...
Knowledge exchange between India and Europe during the early
modern period is a complex phenomenon primarily understood as a linear
process. Focusing on the periphery of the British Empire, the princely state of
Tanjore in 19th century India, the study uncovers the pivotal role played by Raja
Serfoji II in fostering knowledge production and exchange. Tanjore, positioned at
the edges of the colonial empire, emerged as a unique centre for intellectual
pursuits while engaging with the broader global landscape. Raja Serfoji II's
initiatives, including the establishment of the renowned Saraswati Mahal Library,
are examined as pivotal hubs of knowledge preservation and dissemination. This
paper employs a multidisciplinary approach, combining historical analysis,
archival research, and cultural studies to unravel the complex web of knowledge
networks operating within Tanjore during this period. The research argues that
knowledge exchange during this era extended beyond the mere transmission of
ideas, as the British in India actively engaged with Indian Knowledge Systems,
impacting not only their own understanding but also shaping the global
intellectual milieu. By offering a comparative perspective and grounding its
analysis in theoretical frameworks of post-colonialism and global history, this
paper illuminates the underexplored narrative of knowledge exchange at the
periphery of empire, reinforcing the importance of understanding the dynamics of
two-way knowledge transmission in the broader context of colonial history.
... The technical term sālkhudā, borrowed from Persian, is often used in Arabic but not in Tājika sources, which consistently employ Sanskrit translations such as varṣeśvara. 93 See Dykes 2009: 185 ff. and 2019b: 185 ff. for translations from Māshāʾallāh and Abū Maʿshar, respectively; cf. also Burnett and al-Hamdi 1991/1992. 94 Bezza 1996 Ptol. Tetr. ...
... The technical term sālkhudā, borrowed from Persian, is often used in Arabic but not in Tājika sources, which consistently employ Sanskrit translations such as varṣeśvara. 93 See Dykes 2009: 185 ff. and 2019b: 185 ff. for translations from Māshāʾallāh and Abū Maʿshar, respectively; cf. also Burnett and al-Hamdi 1991/1992. 94 Bezza 1996 Ptol. Tetr. ...
... The technical term sālkhudā, borrowed from Persian, is often used in Arabic but not in Tājika sources, which consistently employ Sanskrit translations such as varṣeśvara. 93 See Dykes 2009: 185 ff. and 2019b: 185 ff. for translations from Māshāʾallāh and Abū Maʿshar, respectively; cf. also Burnett and al-Hamdi 1991/1992. 94 Bezza 1996 Ptol. Tetr. ...
... The technical term sālkhudā, borrowed from Persian, is often used in Arabic but not in Tājika sources, which consistently employ Sanskrit translations such as varṣeśvara. 93 See Dykes 2009: 185 ff. and 2019b: 185 ff. for translations from Māshāʾallāh and Abū Maʿshar, respectively; cf. also Burnett and al-Hamdi 1991/1992. 94 Bezza 1996 Ptol. Tetr. ...
... The technical term sālkhudā, borrowed from Persian, is often used in Arabic but not in Tājika sources, which consistently employ Sanskrit translations such as varṣeśvara. 93 See Dykes 2009: 185 ff. and 2019b: 185 ff. for translations from Māshāʾallāh and Abū Maʿshar, respectively; cf. also Burnett and al-Hamdi 1991/1992. 94 Bezza 1996 Ptol. Tetr. ...
... The technical term sālkhudā, borrowed from Persian, is often used in Arabic but not in Tājika sources, which consistently employ Sanskrit translations such as varṣeśvara. 93 See Dykes 2009: 185 ff. and 2019b: 185 ff. for translations from Māshāʾallāh and Abū Maʿshar, respectively; cf. also Burnett and al-Hamdi 1991/1992. 94 Bezza 1996 Ptol. Tetr. ...
... The technical term sālkhudā, borrowed from Persian, is often used in Arabic but not in Tājika sources, which consistently employ Sanskrit translations such as varṣeśvara. 93 See Dykes 2009: 185 ff. and 2019b: 185 ff. for translations from Māshāʾallāh and Abū Maʿshar, respectively; cf. also Burnett and al-Hamdi 1991/1992. 94 Bezza 1996 Ptol. Tetr. ...
... Costard, one of the earlier Englishlanguage writers on astronomical history, spoke for an older non-observational school where the Bible remained a crucial text for astronomy and where scientific evidence of the Earth's age was rejected. Costard's combination of biblicism and Hellenophilia (Pingree, 1992) could not stand up against the flow of atlases, codices and scientific manuscripts of every sort flowing into European libraries from Asia, Africa and the Americas as a result of colonial empire-building. ...
... To return to the earlier example with the context-dependent • symbol, by now 1, 6, 10, or 18 units of anything could be expressed as , , , and , respectively. While this system did not supplant the traditional systems for accounting purposes, it enabled mathematical investigations that were of little practical value administratively, and found application some 1,500 years later in Babylonian astronomy, perhaps the earliest empirical science that can be historically linked to modern practice (Damerow & Englund, 1993b;Joseph, 1987;Pingree, 1992). ...
It is popular in psychology to hypothesize that representations of exact number are innately determined—in particular, that biology has endowed humans with a system for manipulating quantities which forms the primary representational substrate for our numerical and mathematical concepts. While this perspective has been important for advancing empirical work in animal and child cognition, here we examine six natural predictions of strong numerical nativism from a multidisciplinary perspective, and find each to be at odds with evidence from anthropology and developmental science. In particular, the history of number reveals characteristics that are inconsistent with biological determinism of numerical concepts, including a lack of number systems across some human groups and remarkable variability in the form of numerical systems that do emerge. Instead, this literature highlights the importance of economic and social factors in constructing fundamentally new cognitive systems to achieve culturally specific goals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
... In addition to footnote 3 seeRochberg (1992),Pingree (1992), and von Staden (1992) in the special issue Isis 83.4 (1992), "The Cultures of Ancient Science",van de Mieroop (1997), andGabriel (2018), ...
This article introduces a double issue comprising 11 papers about Babylonian and Egyptian priests and scholarship between ca. 600 BCE and 200 CE. They constitute the proceedings of the workshop “Scholars, Priests, and Temples: Babylonian and Egyptian Science in Context”, which was held at the Humboldt University Berlin, 12–14 May 2016, with support of the Excellence Cluster TOPOI. The workshop brought together Assyriologists and Egyptologists with expertise in Babylonian and Egyptian scholarship, priesthoods and temple institutions. All contributions have been revised and updated since then. The present contribution offers a brief introduction on previous research, cross-cultural interactions, economic aspects, royal patronage, and internal developments of Babylonian and Egyptian temple scholarship, followed by short summaries of the papers.
... "The historian ... requires a very broad definition of 'science'one that... will help us to understand the modern scientific enterprise. We need to be broad and inclusive, rather than narrow and exclusive... and we should expect that the farther back we go [in time] the broader we will need to be." (Lindberg, 2007: 3;Pingree, 1992). To define science simply and narrowly only with the notion and understanding of the 21st century would be misleading. ...
... We say we have science because there is a signifi cant group within our society who reject these ideas in favour of science. Th e group of ancient Greeks who do the same may 9 Pingree, 1992 be smaller, but that is only to be expected. I argue the Greeks originated science because for the fi rst time we can isolate such a group in a society. ...
This paper was given as a public lecture to open the 2005 Conference of Greek Studies. It presents a case for locating the origins of science with the ancient Greeks. Although this was once a common view, it has come under fire in the latter part of the twentieth century. The main case is presented briefly, along with some new considerations in favour of the Greeks as the originators of science. There is then a discussion of some of the strategies that might be employed to counter some of the objections that have been raised, either relating to some of the weaknesses of Greek science or to some of the methodological issues involved in approaching ancient Greek science.
There are many foreign astronomical materials that were preserved in the Chinese translation of Buddhist canons. From the content, these astronomical materials include cosmology theories, lunar mansion systems, calendrical data, etc. These astronomical materials are important evidence for the exchange and dissemination of astronomy between ancient civilizations. This paper aims to sort out and analyze the astronomical materials preserved in the Chinese translation of Buddhist canons, classifying and differentiating the content of astronomy, which was foreign to China, tracing the origins of these astronomical knowledge, discussing their impact on local astronomy in China, and evaluating the preservation form, characteristics, reliability, functionality, and limitations of these astronomical materials. Through the above discussion, this paper will demonstrate the core meaning of the historical view of transcultural transmission of sciences and technology, which is ‘knowledge progresses through dissemination and civilization thrives through communication’.
This chapter explores the circulation of Babylonian astral science to other parts of the ancient and medieval world. It pays particular attention to how this circulation took place, why certain parts of Babylonian astronomy and astrology were incorporated within other astronomical traditions, and how they were adapted to fit local circumstances and needs by the receiving culture.
I deepen Needham’s famous metaphor of world scientific history before modern science as different civilizational rivers flowing into the ocean, by exploring whether it can capture more of what we now know about the flows of historical, including scientific processes. Empires and smaller polities have not developed historically, contra the claims of contemporary national histories, as originary events that progress in a linear, tunneled manner. Rather, histories take a circulatory form: emerging in place A, they move to place B, C or E where, interacting with other local processes and structures, they take on a different form and circulate on. Circulatory history does not privilege notions of ownership of historical processes or historical origins which often become foundational claims of sovereignty. Through a few secondary studies, I explore how a methodology of scientific logic was absorbed by successive religions in Eurasia without recognition and even awareness of their origins.
The exchange of knowledge between India and Europe during the early modern period represents a multifaceted phenomenon that has predominantly been perceived as a unidirectional flow. This study delves into the peripheries of the British Empire, specifically the princely state of Tanjore in 19th century India, to highlight the critical role of Raja Serfoji II in the promotion of knowledge production and exchange. Situated on the fringes of the colonial empire, Tanjore emerged as an exceptional locus for scholarly activities, while simultaneously engaging with the expansive global intellectual landscape. The endeavors of Raja Serfoji II, most notably the founding of the esteemed Saraswati Mahal Library, are scrutinized as central nodes for the conservation and diffusion of knowledge. Utilizing a multidisciplinary methodology that integrates historical analysis, archival exploration, and cultural studies, this research endeavors to disentangle the intricate networks of knowledge exchange within Tanjore during this timeframe. It underscores the necessity of appreciating the reciprocal nature of knowledge exchange in the expansive narrative of colonial history, thereby enhancing our understanding of the intricate dynamics that characterized these interactions.
The International Handbook of Physics Education Research: Special Topics covers the topics of equity and inclusion; history and philosophy of physics; textbooks; mathematics; research history, methodologies, and themes. As the field of physics education research grows, it is increasingly difficult for newcomers to gain an appreciation of the major findings across all sub-domains, discern global themes, and recognize gaps in the literature. The International Handbook of Physics Education Research: Special Topics incorporates the understanding of both physics and education concepts and provides an extensive review of the literature in a wide range of important topics.
The International Handbook of Physics Education Research: Special Topics includes:The history and philosophy of physics teaching, including a review of physics textbooks.Teaching mathematics for physics students.Methodologies in physics education research and the future of physics departments.
Readers will find this comprehensive treatment of the literature useful in understanding physics education research and extending to all the physical sciences including chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, and other related disciplines.
This essay engages with some of the central arguments presented in the essay by Reviel Netz. The intention is not to disagree with his arguments but to raise an additional set of questions and salient concerns. The first section discusses the importance of an iterative praxis in the transformation of scientific or mathematical concepts within a school or tradition. In a subsequent section, this is linked with the interpretation of classical texts and the possible sources of anachronism. The essay discusses the multiplicity of genealogies of mathematics and the exact sciences in order to foreground other possible traditions and styles and their role in constituting the identity of the exact sciences. Similarly, the essay closes with a brief discussion of the consequences of recent studies on South Asian history in order to pluralize the narratives of the origins of the exact and modern sciences.
In Egypt during the first centuries CE, men and women would meet discreetly in their homes, in temple sanctuaries, or insolitary places to learn a powerful practice of spiritual liberation. They thought of themselves as followers of Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary master of ancient wisdom. While many of their writings are lost, those that survived have been interpreted primarily as philosophical treatises about theological topics. Wouter J. Hanegraaff challenges this dominant narrative by demonstrating that Hermetic literature was concerned with experiential practices intended for healing the soul from mental delusion. The Way of Hermes involved radical alterations of consciousness in which practitioners claimed to perceive the true nature of reality behind the hallucinatory veil of appearances. Hanegraaff explores how practitioners went through a training regime that involved luminous visions, exorcism, spiritual rebirth, cosmic consciousness, and union with the divine beauty of universal goodness and truth to attain the salvational knowledge known as gnôsis.
Körper, Technik und Imagination stehen in einem konstruktiven Zusammenspiel. Besonders deutlich wird dieses komplexe Geflecht beim Erfinden neuer Techniken, die Praktiken ermöglichen, die zuvor nur imaginiert oder geträumt wurden. Die Beiträger*innen des Bandes untersuchen sowohl rekursive Prozesse zwischen Körper- und Imaginationstechniken als auch die Rolle von körperlichen und imaginativen Tätigkeiten beim Erfinden, Schöpfen und Machen. Die interdisziplinären Perspektiven aus Philosophie, Medien-, Kultur- und Literaturwissenschaft tragen dazu bei, den Begriff der Imaginationstechniken im Verhältnis zu Marcel Mauss' Konzept der Körpertechniken fassbar zu machen.
O livro pretende apresentar novos elementos para a pesquisa em História e Filosofia da Ciência no Ensino de Ciências. Os trabalhos trazem novas questões filosóficas sobre os modelos e narrativas das ciências; os pressupostos culturais dos experimentos e teorias científicas e sua relação com o ensino; e, de maneira inversa, como as teorias e pressupostos científicos estão presentes na cultura e na divulgação de conhecimentos.
Bei den Griechen und Römern war es üblich, die Stunden, die den Zeitraum von Sonnenaufgang bis Sonnenuntergang unterteilten, an Sonnenuhren abzulesen. Es waren Messinstrumente, die von griechischen Wissenschaftlern ersonnen wurden. Sie offenbaren eine intensive Auseinandersetzung mit astronomischen Phänomenen, während ihre Ausführung den ihnen beigemessenen Sinn und Wert widerspiegelt. Kein anderes wissenschaftliches Instrument der Antike hat sich so häufig erhalten. Ihre Anzahl spiegelt die Wertschätzung der Innovation in der damaligen Gesellschaft wider. Dieser Doppelband stellt nicht nur einzelne Funde griechischer Sonnenuhren in Wort und Bild vor, sondern will darüber hinaus durch die Einbeziehung antiker Texte und Inschriften sowie antiker Abbildungen aufzeigen, wie die Sonnenuhr in das kulturelle Leben des Altertums eingebunden war. Dem schließt sich eine Betrachtung der mathematischen und astronomischen Grundlagen des Messinstruments und seiner Genauigkeit an. Der vorliegende Band I eröffnet anhand zahlreicher Forschungsliteratur neue Perspektiven auf die antiken Sonnenuhren. Der Schwerpunkt der Studie liegt dabei auf den griechischen Uhren, doch werden römische Exemplare und Abbildungen sowie lateinische Texte und Inschriften insbesondere bei Fragen nach dem Wissenstransfer mit herangezogen.
This paper addresses developments in the prediction of weather phenomena in Late Babylonian scholarly texts. Previously published and unpublished texts are analyzed and the underlying methods are compared with omen-based weather prognostication, developments in Babylonian astronomical prediction and reporting practices in the astronomical diaries. It is found that some texts combine long-term astronomical prediction with inferential methods for predicting weather phenomena. It is argued that these new methods for predicting weather phenomena are part of a larger Babylonian effort to predict and explain non-astronomical phenomena by relating them to predictable astronomical phenomena.
Orientalism is a much maligned concept. While geared to the service of the
Western colonial sense of superiority, Orientalism is, at base, a loose set of
symbols and motifs that is more geared towards an introspective critique of the
West itself. It represents certain internal antagonisms and Western
anxieties that emerge in confrontations with the East over
gender and sexuality. This becomes evident when it comes to Western science
fiction (written and filmed) among other popular genres and specifically when
applied to Arabs and Muslims (the “classical” East). Hitherto, most literature
on the Orientalism evident in Western SF has focused on the Far East, via
Techno-Orientalism and Cyber-Punk. The growing strength of Arab and Muslim SF,
however, can counter these Orientalist tendencies in the genre; taking Egyptian
SF as a test case. Western SF, moreover, can set its own house in order in the
meantime, since SF allows for symbolic substitutes to existential threats
traditionally posed by the East in the Western imagination.
This volume in the highly respected Cambridge History of Science series is devoted to the history of science in the Middle Ages from the North Atlantic to the Indus Valley. Medieval science was once universally dismissed as non-existent - and sometimes it still is. This volume reveals the diversity of goals, contexts and accomplishments in the study of nature during the Middle Ages. Organized by topic and culture, its essays by distinguished scholars offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date history of medieval science currently available. Intended to provide a balanced and inclusive treatment of the medieval world, contributors consider scientific learning and advancement in the cultures associated with the Arabic, Greek, Latin and Hebrew languages. Scientists, historians and other curious readers will all gain a new appreciation for the study of nature during an era that is often misunderstood.
The tsetse fly is a pan-African insect that bites an infective forest animal and ingests blood filled with invisible parasites, which it carries and transmits into cattle and people as it bites them, leading to n'gana (animal trypanosomiasis) and sleeping sickness. This book examines how the presence of the tsetse fly turned the forests of Zimbabwe and southern Africa into an open laboratory where African knowledge formed the basis of colonial tsetse control policies. The book traces the pestiferous work that an indefatigable, mobile insect does through its movements, and the work done by humans to control it. The book restores the central role not just of African labor but of African intellect in the production of knowledge about the tsetse fly. It describes how European colonizers built on and beyond this knowledge toward destructive and toxic methods, including cutting down entire forests, forced “prophylactic” resettlement, massive destruction of wild animals, and extensive spraying of organochlorine pesticides. Throughout, the book uses African terms to describe the African experience, taking vernacular concepts as starting points in writing a narrative of ruzivo (knowledge) rather than viewing Africa through foreign keywords.
This work presents the context of the formation of professor John Hadji Argyris, FRS (1913-2004) in Germany during the 1930s and Switzerland during the 1940s. From primary documentation, here is elucidated publications with scientific theories of structural analysis during his job as a secret Commission member of the Royal Aeronautical Society in England. Explores the content published in the Journal Aircraft Engineering with the serie of publication of the Theorems of Energy and Structural Analysis in 1954 and 1955 from Argyris’s lectures at Imperial College, London, where he was a professor and director of the Department of Aeronautical Structures. The goal of this research is to analyze the systematic method of calculation of Argyris, from the theory of Computational Simulation. From this point of view, the conceptual mathematical model would be a computational model based on the unification of the concepts of Elasticity Theory and Energy Theorems formulated in matrix mathematics for communication with the computer.
Cambridge Core - Classical Archaeology - The Pasts of Roman Anatolia - by Felipe Rojas
In the realization of moving automata for Francesco I de’ Medici’s sixteenth-century Villa Pratolino outside of Florence, the memory of antiquity informed both the practical and theoretical operations of these “living statues.” The 1587 description of the villa and its wonders, Delle Maravigliose Opere di Pratolino, & d’Amore by Francesco de’ Vieri, associates magical traditions of statue animation with Renaissance automata in a passage that cites Aristotle’s description, rooted in atomism and sympathetic magic, of the physical process by which Daedalus animated his legendary wooden Venus. From the fifteenth century onwards, the rediscovery and popularity of Neoplatonic and Hermetic philosophical texts in the Renaissance perpetuated Greco-Egyptian methods of investing man-made vessels, typically cult statues, with some kind of “life” from received celestial influences, thus manufacturing the “living gods” of antiquity. Simultaneously, mechanical texts which preserved mechanical devices and principles from ancient Alexandria were being assimilated to the engineering repertoire of Western Europe, and air and water were harnessed to impart movement to the early modern automata which graced Italian Renaissance hydraulic villas and gardens. For the court of Francesco I de’ Medici, the division between our modern scientific concept of air and a metaphysical “spirit” was not yet drawn, and manipulating this occult “influence” was invested with a mastery of a far broader, unseen sphere. For the court philosopher De’ Vieri, Neoplatonic and Hermetic writings furnished alternative and not necessarily contradictory understandings of various hidden forces which could cause statues to move. In the late sixteenth century, a much broader conception of “nature” allowed for the confirmation of invisible or “occult” phenomena which did not preclude the magical philosophy of antiquity from being related to the empirical discoveries being made via the production of new mechanical devices. De’ Vieri’s 1587 panegyric to Pratolino demonstrates that the mastery of mechanical as well as esoteric magical philosophy came to feature in the propaganda of the newly-invested Medici Grand Duke.
Cambridge Core - Middle East History - The Crisis of Kingship in Late Medieval Islam - by Christopher Markiewicz
Cambridge Core - Ancient History - Between Greece and Babylonia - by Kathryn Stevens
Was Wissenschaft überhaupt ist — darüber sind jahrhundertelang heftige Diskussionen geführt worden. An dieser Diskussion beteiligten sich Naturwissenschaftler, Philosophen, Historiker und andere Betroffene. Zwar ist man zu keiner allgemeinen Übereinstimmung gekommen, doch gibt es eine Anzahl von Definitionen, die besonders kräftige Unterstützung gefunden haben: (1) Einer dieser Theorien zufolge handelt es sich bei der Naturwissenschaft um die Gesamtheit jener Verhaltensmuster, durch welche der Mensch sich seine Umwelt unterworfen hat. Wissenschaft wird hier gleichgesetzt mit handwerklichen Traditionen und Technik; die Menschen der Vorgeschichte haben so gesehen zur Entwicklung der Wissenschaft beigetragen, indem sie lernten, Metall zu bearbeiten oder ihre landwirtschaftlichen Tätigkeiten ertragreicher zu gestalten. (2) Eine andere Theorie unterscheidet zwischen Wissenschaft und Technik; sie betrachtet die Wissenschaft als die Gesamtheit theroretischer Kenntnisse, Technik dagegen als die Anwendung dieser theoretischen Kenntnisse bei der Lösung praktischer Probleme. Dieser Definition zufolge muß man die Technik des Kraftfahrzeugdesigns und -baus von der theoretischen Mechanik, der Aerodynamik und den anderen ihnen zugrundeliegenden theoretischen Fächern trennen; dabei gelten nur die theoretischen Fächer als »Wissenschaften«.
Challenging Hindu nationalist myths about history of science in ancient India.
In the wake of Postmodernism and Alternative Medicine, a new history of medicine has developed with the same disregard for objective evidence shown by Alternative Medicine. This paper refers to this new history of medicine as Aitemative History of Medicine. Traits common to Alternative Medicine and Alternative History of Medicine include: conformism, insufficient knowledge, conceit, pseudo-objectivism, disregard of evidence, and the predominance of non-physicians among supporters and practitioners. A major reason for the development of these "alternatives" is the deterioration of the intellectual standards of schools, including medical schools.
Academics tend to look on 'esoteric', 'occult' or 'magical' beliefs with contempt, but are usually ignorant about the religious and philosophical traditions to which these terms refer, or their relevance to intellectual history. Wouter Hanegraaff tells the neglected story of how intellectuals since the Renaissance have tried to come to terms with a cluster of 'pagan' ideas from late antiquity that challenged the foundations of biblical religion and Greek rationality. Expelled from the academy on the basis of Protestant and Enlightenment polemics, these traditions have come to be perceived as the Other by which academics define their identity to the present day. Hanegraaff grounds his discussion in a meticulous study of primary and secondary sources, taking the reader on an exciting intellectual voyage from the fifteenth century to the present day and asking what implications the forgotten history of exclusion has for established textbook narratives of religion, philosophy and science.
A defining period in the history of civilization occurred in ancient Mesopotamia. While some of Mesopotamian contributions to knowledge (writing, mathematics, astronomy) have been recognized, those made to medicine are just beginning to be studied and appreciated. The medicine of the time developed in a theocratic society where local gods controlled all aspects of life and their healers were learned scribes who established the priestly medicine of old. For their use of prayers and incantations as a component of therapy Mesopotamian medicine has been belittled and relegated to magic. In fact, the Mesopotamian healers established the basic medical skills of observation, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment and, over time, systematically produced an expanding corpus of medical knowledge that had not existed theretofore. The kidney as an organ, the components of the urogenital tract, some signs and symptoms of renal diseases, and the art of urinalysis were first conceptualized, studied, and codified in Mesopotamia. In doing so, the Mesopotamians set the foundations of rational medicine that would follow after the introduction of the phonetic alphabet and the Socratic method of questioning and debate to stimulate critical analysis.
This paper views the relevance of cuneiform texts to the history of science from inside, i.e., from the perspective of the available sources, as well as from outside, i.e., from the perspective of historians of science outside the field of Assyriology. It reviews some of the methodological problems that beset the reconstruction of science in the ancient Near East as well as a way forward, which acknowledges localism and pluralism as well the compelling continuity from cuneiform traditions of knowledge to later counterparts (astronomy, astrology, magic, astral-medicine). Cuneiform texts will not instantiate a universal or transcultural science but are essential if science is to be seen as embedded in culture and history.
Every culture has mathematics, but some have more than others. The cuneiform cultures of the pre-Islamic Middle East left a particularly rich mathematical heritage, some of which profoundly influenced late Classical and medieval Arabic traditions, but which was for the most part lost in antiquity and has begun to be recovered only in the last century or so.
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