History of science

Modern science is a body of verifiable empirical knowledge, a global community of scholars, and a set of techniques for investigating the universe known as the scientific method. The history of science traces these phenomena and their precursors back in time, all the way into human prehistory.

The Middle Ages {{seemain1|History of science in the Middle Ages}}

The Middle Ages: Western World

See also: Medieval medicine, Medieval philosophy

Related Topics:
Medieval medicine - Medieval philosophy

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With the loss of the Western Roman Empire, much of Europe lost contact with the knowledge of the past. Because of this regression in knowledge, the long period that followed is also known as the Dark Ages. While the Byzantine Empire still held learning centers such as Alexandria and Constantinople, Western Europe's knowledge was concentrated in monasteries until the development of medieval universities in the 12th and 13th centuries. Initially these universities were organized to only teach theology, but people like Roger Bacon encouraged teaching of the sciences. Scientific teaching of the period was based upon copies of ancient texts that remained in Western Europe, and is known as the philosophic school of scholasticism. The rise of Christianity saw a strange paradox: classical Greek philosophy (along with Greek and Roman art, literature and religious iconography) was suppressed while at the same time it was safeguarded.

Related Topics:
Western Roman Empire - Dark Ages - Byzantine Empire - Alexandria - Constantinople - Monasteries - Medieval universities - 12th - 13th - Theology - Roger Bacon - Scholasticism - Christianity - Iconography

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Renaissance period

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See also: Renaissance

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The Renaissance was instigated by rediscovery of the works of ancient philosophers and an intellectual revitalization of Europe. This provided a solid foundation for all future scientific work. Contact with the Islamic world in Sicily and Spain allowed Europeans access to preserved copies of Greek and Roman works along with the works of Islamic philosophers. Translations and commentaries of Aristotle by the Islamic scholar Averroës were influential in much of Europe. The published works of Marco Polo along with the Crusades helped spark interest in geography. Most importantly, the development of the printing press in the 1450s allowed for new ideas to be rapidly copied to multiple people.

Related Topics:
Sicily - Spain - Averroës - Marco Polo - Crusades - Geography - Printing press

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The Middle Ages: Eastern World

:See also: Islamic science

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In the Middle East, Greek philosophy was able to find some short-lived support by the newly created Arab Caliphate (Empire). With the spread of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries, a period of Islamic scholarship lasted until the 14th century. This scholarship was aided by several factors. The use of a single language, Arabic, allowed communication without need of a translator. Access to Greek and Roman texts from the Byzantine Empire along with Indian sources of learning provided Islamic scholars a knowledge base to build upon. In addition, there was the Hajj. This annual pilgrimage to Mecca facilitated scholarly collaboration by bringing together people and new ideas from all over the Islamic world.

Related Topics:
Caliphate - Islam - 7th - 8th - 14th century - Arabic - Byzantine Empire - Indian - Hajj - Pilgrimage - Mecca

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In Islamic versions of early scientific method, ethics played an important role. During this period the concepts of citation and peer review were developed. Previous work in medicine, astronomy and mathematics led to the development of alchemy. In mathematics, the Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to what is now called an algorithm; the word algebra is derived from al-jabr, the beginning of the title of one of his publications. Sabian mathematician Al-Batani (850-929) contributed to astronomy and mathematics and Persian scholar Al-Razi to chemistry. The fruits of these contributions can be seen in Damascus steel (wootz steel), and the Baghdad Battery. Arab alchemy inspired Roger Bacon, and later Isaac Newton, too. In astronomy, Al-Batani improved the measurements of Hipparchus, preserved in the translation of the Greek Hè Megalè Syntaxis (The great treatise) translated as Almagest. Al-Batani also improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the earth's axis.

Related Topics:
Ethics - Citation - Peer review - Alchemy - Persian - Al-Khwarizmi - Algorithm - Algebra - Sabian - Al-Batani - 850 - 929 - Astronomy - Mathematics - Al-Razi - Chemistry - Damascus steel - Wootz steel - Baghdad Battery - Roger Bacon - Isaac Newton - Hipparchus - Almagest - Precession

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