The Scientific Revolution in Global Perspective Readings: scitech.html scitech.html Spodek, p. 479

Europe Superior?  Common myth that Europe was superior in most ways to the rest of the world  This included culture and science  However, evidence suggests otherwise!

Chinese inventions  Draw loom – 1400 years before Europe  Magnetic Compass – 1100 years before Europe  Paper making – 1000 years before Europe  Gun Powder – 600 years before Europe

European Science  Was related to the Greeks  Much of it was preserved in Alexandria by people from the Middle East  Euclid –worked on geometry

European Science (continued)  Ptolemy worked in Astronomy  He was heavily influenced by Babylonian Astronomy  Galen worked in Medicine.  All incorporation of Mesopotamian sources into Greek sources

Middle Ages  Science of Ancient World was preserved by Islamic Scholars  Islamic Societies are known as the great Synthesizers (The Islamic major intellectual center was called the House of Wisdom)  European Fibonacci studied Persian texts

Mathematics and Science  Al-Khwarizmi was a central Asian mathematician and philosopher.  Paper came from China which meant math could now be done on paper  Speaking of Math - Trigonometry came from India

New Information???  Copernicus’ model of lunar motion same as Ibn al-Shatir (Damascus, 1375)  Copernicus’ descriptions of motions of other planets same as two people—Mu’ayyad al-Din al-’Urdi (Damascus, 1266) and Nasir al-Din al- Tusi (Mongol, Central Asia 1274 Copernicus, born 1473 in Poland

During the course of the Scientific Revolution  Europe began to see and think differently than the rest of the world  Development of Perspective Drawing, which was critical for machine making.  Brunelleschi was an Italian artist who studied Arab science.  Alberti, another Italian artist, in 1453 developed math and geometry of linear perspective.

Leonardo Da Vinci  Think of him as an artist however he studied everything in order to paint it.  He saw himself as more of an engineer than a painter.  He used perspective to draw machines.

What was the consequence?  After Newton, science in Europe was not as linked to religion as it once was.  Islamic Societies had a hard time with the new science. It was not consistent with the Qu’ran like Greek science. But, the idea of the sun at the center of the universe was not a crisis as it was for Western Europe  Arab science lags behind western science into the 19 th century largely because of influence of conservative ulama (Islamic Scholars), who believed God punishing Arabs for seeking the secrets of divine truth.

And in China?  Jesuits like Ricci tried to impress the Chinese with mechanical toys, European science, and clocks  Chinese were not interested in western science or technology. They did not see the point to it –though they let Jesuits run their observatories because of the accuracy of their astronomical predictions

Kaozheng (China’s version of the House Wisdom)  New Chinese intellectual movement of the Qing Dynasty  “Seek truth from facts”  Precision, accuracy, and rigorous analysis to understand any problem  Revival of ancient Chinese mathematical texts  Partly to show that Western science derived from traditional Chinese mathematics

China and the gunpowder revolution The Chinese invention of gunpowder made warfare all over the world very different, affecting the way battles were fought and borders were drawn throughout theMiddle Ages.Middle Ages

Japan’s Response  “Eastern Ethics and Western Science”  Allowed Dutch one trading port— imported many European books, especially science, medicine, and mathematics  They recognized the significance of western science and technology, but understood it in the context of a Confucian culture