A Galilean Answer to the Needham Question
To make the Needham question answerable it is extended thus—What hindered Greco-Roman and Medieval science from making the next major step after Archimedes, and what hindered Eastern scientists from contributing to modern physics for centuries after Galileo? To answer this question the key distincti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Éditions Kimé
2017-02-01
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| Series: | Philosophia Scientiæ |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/philosophiascientiae/1244 |
| Summary: | To make the Needham question answerable it is extended thus—What hindered Greco-Roman and Medieval science from making the next major step after Archimedes, and what hindered Eastern scientists from contributing to modern physics for centuries after Galileo? To answer this question the key distinction between modern physics and pre-Galilean science is suggested: the right to invent “illogical” fundamental concepts which can be verified by experiments. This right is based on the belief that the Universe is governed by hidden fundamental laws which Man is capable of knowing about. The source of this belief was the biblical worldview which became the basis for European cultures by the time of the Scientific Revolution thanks to book printing and the Reformation. |
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| ISSN: | 1281-2463 1775-4283 |