There is a commonly held view that during the Middle Ages, Arabic scientists focused mainly on translating into Arabic the scientific knowledge of ancient civilizations while contributing little to scientific advancement. Physicist al-Khalili (Univ. of Surrey, UK; Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed) vigorously challenges this theory by documenting the remarkable contributions of Arabic astronomers, mathematicians, physicians, physicists, chemists, and philosophers, who were scholars at a scientific academy in Baghdad known as the House of Wisdom. While the names of these "forgotten geniuses and unsung heroes" may be unfamiliar to most of us, their scientific legacies still reverberate. One such legacy is that algebra was developed as a distinct branch of mathematics by House of Wisdom scholar al-Khwarizmi in the ninth century. VERDICT Al-Khalili brings to life a vibrant intellectual period of Islamic history when there was not only tolerance for other religions and cultures but a synergy between science and Islam. Anyone interested in the early history of science or the development of the scientific method before Galileo will find this an engaging study.—Cynthia Knight, Hunterdon Cty. Lib., Flemington, NJ
A myth-shattering view of the medieval Islamic world¿s myriad scientific innovations, which preceded¿and enabled¿the European Renaissance
The Arabic legacy of science and philosophy has long been hidden from the West. British-Iraqi physicist Jim Al-Khalili unveils that legacy to fascinating effect by returning to its roots in the hubs of Arab innovation that would advance science and jump-start the European Renaissance. Inspired by the Koranic injunction to study closely all of God¿s works, rulers throughout the Islamic world funded armies of scholars who gathered and translated Persian, Sanskrit, and Greek texts. From the ninth through the fourteenth centuries, these scholars built upon those foundations a scientific revolution that bridged the one-thousand-year gap between the ancient Greeks and the European Renaissance.
Many of the innovations that we think of as hallmarks of Western science were actually the result of Arab ingenuity: astronomers laid the foundations for the heliocentric model of the solar system long before Copernicus; physicians accurately described blood circulation and the inner workings of the eye ages before Europeans solved those mysteries; physicists made discoveries that laid the foundation for Newton's theories of optics. But the most significant legacy of Middle Eastern science was its evidence-based approachamp;mdash;the lack of which kept Europeans in the dark throughout the Dark Ages. The father of this experimental approach to science¿what we call the scientific method¿was an Iraqi physicist who applied it centuries before Europeans first dabbled in it. Al-Khalili details not only how discoveries like these were made, but also how they changed European minds and how they were ultimately obscured by later Western versions of the same principles.
With transporting detail, Al-Khalili places the listener in the intellectual and cultural hothouses of the Arab Enlightenmen: the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, one of the world¿s greatest academies, the holy city of Isfahan, the melting pots of Damascus and Cairo, and the embattled Islamic outposts of Spain.
Al-Khalili tackles two tantalizing questions: Why did the Arab world enter its own Dark Age after such a dazzling enlightenment? And how much did Arabic learning contribute to making the Western world as we know it? Given his singular combination of expertise in both the Western and Middle Eastern scientific traditions, Al-Khalili is uniquely qualified to solve those riddles.
A myth-shattering view of the medieval Islamic world¿s myriad scientific innovations, which preceded¿and enabled¿the European Renaissance
The Arabic legacy of science and philosophy has long been hidden from the West. British-Iraqi physicist Jim Al-Khalili unveils that legacy to fascinating effect by returning to its roots in the hubs of Arab innovation that would advance science and jump-start the European Renaissance. Inspired by the Koranic injunction to study closely all of God¿s works, rulers throughout the Islamic world funded armies of scholars who gathered and translated Persian, Sanskrit, and Greek texts. From the ninth through the fourteenth centuries, these scholars built upon those foundations a scientific revolution that bridged the one-thousand-year gap between the ancient Greeks and the European Renaissance.
Many of the innovations that we think of as hallmarks of Western science were actually the result of Arab ingenuity: astronomers laid the foundations for the heliocentric model of the solar system long before Copernicus; physicians accurately described blood circulation and the inner workings of the eye ages before Europeans solved those mysteries; physicists made discoveries that laid the foundation for Newton's theories of optics. But the most significant legacy of Middle Eastern science was its evidence-based approachamp;mdash;the lack of which kept Europeans in the dark throughout the Dark Ages. The father of this experimental approach to science¿what we call the scientific method¿was an Iraqi physicist who applied it centuries before Europeans first dabbled in it. Al-Khalili details not only how discoveries like these were made, but also how they changed European minds and how they were ultimately obscured by later Western versions of the same principles.
With transporting detail, Al-Khalili places the listener in the intellectual and cultural hothouses of the Arab Enlightenmen: the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, one of the world¿s greatest academies, the holy city of Isfahan, the melting pots of Damascus and Cairo, and the embattled Islamic outposts of Spain.
Al-Khalili tackles two tantalizing questions: Why did the Arab world enter its own Dark Age after such a dazzling enlightenment? And how much did Arabic learning contribute to making the Western world as we know it? Given his singular combination of expertise in both the Western and Middle Eastern scientific traditions, Al-Khalili is uniquely qualified to solve those riddles.
The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance
The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169923773 |
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Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
Publication date: | 02/26/2019 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Related Subjects
- History
- Religion
- Social Sciences
- Philosophy
- Science & Technology
- World History
- Islam
- Islamic Studies
- General & Miscellaneous Philosophy
- History & Philosophy of Science
- General & Miscellaneous Religion
- Middle Eastern History
- Major Branches of Philosophical Study
- European History
- Civilization - History
- History of Islam
- Philosophy, Religious
- General & Miscellaneous European History
- Civilization - General & Miscellaneous
- History of Islam - General & Miscellaneous
- History of Islam - Islamic Empire
- History of Philosophy
- History of Science
- Islamic Philosophy
- Middle East History - Ancient & Islamic Empire
- Religion, Philosophy of
- Renaissance - History