02-08-2008, 11:57 PM
January 30, 2008 10:55 AM
To those of us interested in mathmatics, there is no doubt of the value Islam played in preserving - and improving - the traditions of the Indian, Chinese, Greeks and others; and more widely some of the interest ancient Muslim scholars played in the physical sciences.
I strongly do *not* agree with the assertion modern European science began with Copernicus and Galileo in the 16th century. If I were to pick a starting point (and there is no single starting point) I would suggest Leonardo Fibonacci (of the famous sequence of the same name) of Pisa, who was 12th century. Note that he travelled the Islamic lands and brought the Islamic-preserved (and improved) mathmatics to Europe.
An incisive read is The Chronological List of Mathematicians
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhis...ology.html
In it one can clearly see the peak of the Arabian period, rougly 800-1100 AD. One can also see numerous Asiatic, Arabic, and Western names in the period 1100-1600.
However, ancient academics - or the lack of them - are of ZERO merit in terms of modern culture. Pacific Islanders or Sub-Saharan Africans should not by valued less than Muslims, the Chinese, or Westerners, because they did not have the same academic traditions.
Moreover none of the names mentioned in the article or this post were the ultimate liberators of intellect, the greatest Champion of Reason. That title, if it is given to any single individual, should be awarded to Charles Darwin.
Darwin did not destroy God. He destroyed the one, final, remaining argument for God. It can be argued (and I do) that post-Darwin, religion should more strictly be classified as a mental illness. You are, literally, bonkers if you believe.
Now, if only a few more Muslims, Christians, Jews and Hindus, could *grasp* that, the world would be a happier, and safer, place.
To those of us interested in mathmatics, there is no doubt of the value Islam played in preserving - and improving - the traditions of the Indian, Chinese, Greeks and others; and more widely some of the interest ancient Muslim scholars played in the physical sciences.
I strongly do *not* agree with the assertion modern European science began with Copernicus and Galileo in the 16th century. If I were to pick a starting point (and there is no single starting point) I would suggest Leonardo Fibonacci (of the famous sequence of the same name) of Pisa, who was 12th century. Note that he travelled the Islamic lands and brought the Islamic-preserved (and improved) mathmatics to Europe.
An incisive read is The Chronological List of Mathematicians
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhis...ology.html
In it one can clearly see the peak of the Arabian period, rougly 800-1100 AD. One can also see numerous Asiatic, Arabic, and Western names in the period 1100-1600.
However, ancient academics - or the lack of them - are of ZERO merit in terms of modern culture. Pacific Islanders or Sub-Saharan Africans should not by valued less than Muslims, the Chinese, or Westerners, because they did not have the same academic traditions.
Moreover none of the names mentioned in the article or this post were the ultimate liberators of intellect, the greatest Champion of Reason. That title, if it is given to any single individual, should be awarded to Charles Darwin.
Darwin did not destroy God. He destroyed the one, final, remaining argument for God. It can be argued (and I do) that post-Darwin, religion should more strictly be classified as a mental illness. You are, literally, bonkers if you believe.
Now, if only a few more Muslims, Christians, Jews and Hindus, could *grasp* that, the world would be a happier, and safer, place.