02-08-2008, 11:54 PM
The contributions of Arab scientists to civilization is undeniable. As other people have pointed out, they used Greek, Assyrian and Indian science, but this is not a surprise. Science is always based on previous work.
I don't agree with Jim, however, that the Arab contribution is unknown in the west. I confess, however, that I might think so because my mother tongue is Spanish, and we were always told at school how important the Arabs had been in the formation of our language, our world and our science. Nonetheless, every English history of science I've read, the Arabs always had a prominent role to play.
It is also disputable that the European Middle Ages were just "Dark Ages". They were years of great technological innovation and not everything was just Aristotelian scholastics (Roger Bacon and William of Ockham are not Modern thinkers).
WML says that "Christian architecture took centuries to catch up with the more advanced classic civilisation it tore down". I disagree.
Hagia Sofia is a Xtian building. It has withstand a 7.5 earthquake, something that no pagan Roman or Greek building could ever do. Greek engineering was very primitive. They couldn't build domes or bridges, which is something the Romans "invented". Romanic and Gothic cathedrals did not abandon Roman principles, but "twisted" them for their own purposes. Gothic cathedrals could reach heights that no Roman architecture could think of. Architecture was not brought back to life by Bruneleschi. It never died.
The Middle Ages did not tear down classical civilisation, they reused it, and abused it as a means of justification.
One interesting bit of the article is this:
"And, possibly more important, the Islamic world needs to see itself through new eyes and take pride in its rich and impressive heritage."
The Muslims I know are proud of their heritage, but they tend to be secular and well educated. What they tell me about their countries tends to be quite depressing. Unfortunately, this is not a Muslim privilege. The understanding of science by the genreal public in Latin America is appalling. The contributions of LA to science have been minimal (Edinburgh University has got more Nobel Prizes than the whole of LA). The widespread mistrut of science among large parts of the population in the US and Western Europe is also disheartening. Nonetheless, science keeps advancing and nowadays one can find good sceintists in the four corners of the world (LA, Africa, Asia, especially, and even Muslim countries like Iran, for what I know).
I will complete Jim's phrase thus:
"the World needs to see itself through new eyes and take pride in its rich and impressive heritage."
Mujokan, great posts.
I don't agree with Jim, however, that the Arab contribution is unknown in the west. I confess, however, that I might think so because my mother tongue is Spanish, and we were always told at school how important the Arabs had been in the formation of our language, our world and our science. Nonetheless, every English history of science I've read, the Arabs always had a prominent role to play.
It is also disputable that the European Middle Ages were just "Dark Ages". They were years of great technological innovation and not everything was just Aristotelian scholastics (Roger Bacon and William of Ockham are not Modern thinkers).
WML says that "Christian architecture took centuries to catch up with the more advanced classic civilisation it tore down". I disagree.
Hagia Sofia is a Xtian building. It has withstand a 7.5 earthquake, something that no pagan Roman or Greek building could ever do. Greek engineering was very primitive. They couldn't build domes or bridges, which is something the Romans "invented". Romanic and Gothic cathedrals did not abandon Roman principles, but "twisted" them for their own purposes. Gothic cathedrals could reach heights that no Roman architecture could think of. Architecture was not brought back to life by Bruneleschi. It never died.
The Middle Ages did not tear down classical civilisation, they reused it, and abused it as a means of justification.
One interesting bit of the article is this:
"And, possibly more important, the Islamic world needs to see itself through new eyes and take pride in its rich and impressive heritage."
The Muslims I know are proud of their heritage, but they tend to be secular and well educated. What they tell me about their countries tends to be quite depressing. Unfortunately, this is not a Muslim privilege. The understanding of science by the genreal public in Latin America is appalling. The contributions of LA to science have been minimal (Edinburgh University has got more Nobel Prizes than the whole of LA). The widespread mistrut of science among large parts of the population in the US and Western Europe is also disheartening. Nonetheless, science keeps advancing and nowadays one can find good sceintists in the four corners of the world (LA, Africa, Asia, especially, and even Muslim countries like Iran, for what I know).
I will complete Jim's phrase thus:
"the World needs to see itself through new eyes and take pride in its rich and impressive heritage."
Mujokan, great posts.