History of science

History of science
2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History; General
Physics

Science is a body of empirical and theoretical knowledge, produced by a global

community of researchers, making use of specific techniques for the observation
and explanation of real phenomena, this techne as a whole being summed up under Background

the heading of scientific method. As such, the history of science draws on Theories/sociology

the historical methods of both intellectual history and social history. Historiography

The Scientific Revolution of the sixteenth and early seventeenth century saw the Pseudoscience

inception of modern scientific methods to guide the evaluation of knowledge. This By era
change is considered to be so fundamental that some — especially philosophers of In early cultures
science and practicing scientists — consider such earlier inquiries into nature to in Classical Antiquity
be pre-scientific. Traditionally, historians of science have defined science sufficiently In the Middle Ages
broadly to include those inquiries.
In the Renaissance

The history of mathematics, history of technology, and history of philosophy are Scientific Revolution

covered in other articles. Mathematics is closely related to, but distinct from science By topic
(at least in the modern conception). Technology concerns the creative process of
Natural sciences
designing useful objects and systems, which differs from the search for empirical
Astronomy
truth. Philosophy differs from science in that, while both the natural and the social
Biology
sciences attempt to base their theories on established fact, philosophy also enquires
Chemistry
about other areas of knowledge, notably ethics. In practice, each of these fields is
Ecology
heavily used by the others as an external tool.
Geography
Theories and sociology of the history of science
Physics

Much of the study of the history of science has been devoted to answering Social sciences

questions about what science is, how it functions, and whether it exhibits large- Economics

scale patterns and trends. The sociology of science in particular has focused on Linguistics
the ways in which scientists work, looking closely at the ways in which they Political science
"produce" and "construct" scientific knowledge. Since the 1960s, a common Psychology
trend in the science studies (the study of the sociology and history of science) Sociology
has been to emphasize the "human component" to scientific knowledge, and to
Technology
de-emphasize the view that scientific data is self-evident, value-free, and
Agricultural science
context-free.
Computer science
A major subject of concern and controversy in the philosophy of science has Materials science
been to inquire about the nature of theory change in science. Three Medicine

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philosophers in particular who represent the primary poles in this debate have been Karl Popper, who
argued that scientific knowledge is progressive and cumulative; Thomas Kuhn, who argued that scientific
knowledge moves through " paradigm shifts" and is not necessarily progressive; and Paul Feyerabend,
who argued that scientific knowledge is not cumulative or progressive, and that there can be
no demarcation between science and any other form of investigation.

Since the publication of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962, there has been much
debate in the academic community over the meaning and objectivity of "science." Often, but not always, a
conflict over the "truth" of science has split along the lines of those in the scientific community and those
in the social sciences or humanities (for example, the " Science wars").

Early cultures

Mesopotamian clay tablet, 492 BC; writing allowed the recording of astronomical information.

In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge was passed from generation to generation in an oral
tradition. The development of writing enabled knowledge to be stored and communicated across
generations with much greater fidelity. Combined with the development of agriculture, which
allowed for a surplus of food, it became possible for early civilizations to develop, because more
time could be devoted to tasks other than survival.

Many ancient civilizations collected astronomical information in a systematic manner through simple
observation. Though they had no knowledge of the real physical structure of the planets and stars,
many theoretical explanations were proposed.

Basic facts about human physiology were known in some places, and alchemy was practiced in
several civilizations. Considerable observation of macrobiotic flora and fauna was also performed.

Science in Classical Antiquity

Aristotle (sculpture)

In Antiquity, the inquiry into the workings of the universe took place both in investigations
aimed at such practical goals as establishing a reliable calendar or determining how to cure a
variety of illnesses and in those abstract investegations known as natural philosophy. The
ancient peoples who are considered the first scientists may have thought of themselves
as natural philosophers, as practitioners of a skilled profession (for example, physicians), or
as followers of a religious tradition (for example, temple healers).

The earliest Greek philosophers, known as the pre-Socratics, provided competing answers to

the question found in the myths of their neighbors: "How did the ordered cosmos in which we
live come to be?" Subsequently, Plato and Aristotle produced the first systematic discussions
of natural philosophy, which did much to shape later investigations into nature.

The important legacy of this period included substantial advances in factual knowledge,
especially in anatomy, zoology, and astronomy; an awareness of the importance of certain
scientific problems, especially those related to the problem of change and its causes; and a
recognition of the methodological importance of applying mathematics to natural phenomena
and of undertaking empirical research.

Science in India

Indian philosophers in ancient India developed atomic theories, which included

formulating ideas about the atom in a systematic manner and propounding ideas about
the atomic constitution of the material world. The principle of relativity was also available
in an early embryonic form in the Indian philosophical concept of "sapekshavad". The
literal translation of this Sanskrit word is "theory of relativity" (not to be confused with
Einstein's theory of relativity). The wootz, crucible and stainless steels were invented in
India.
Aryabhata in 499 presented a heliocentric solar system of gravitation where he
presented astronomical and mathematical theories in which the Earth was taken to be
spinning on its axis and the periods of the planets were given as elliptical orbits with
respect to the sun. He also believed that the moon and planets shine by reflected
sunlight and that the orbits of the planets are ellipses. He carried out accurate
calculations of astronomical constants based on this system, such as the periods of the
planets, the circumference of the earth, the solar eclipse and lunar eclipse, the time
taken for a single rotation of the Earth on its axis, the length of earth's revolution around
the sun, and the longitudes of planets using eccentrics and epicycles. He also
introduced a number of trigonometric functions (including sine, versine, cosine and
inverse sine), trigonometric tables, and techniques and algorithms of algebra. Arabic
translations of his texts were available in the Islamic world by the 8th-10th century.

In the 7th century, Brahmagupta briefly described the law of gravitation, and

recognized gravity as a force of attraction. He also lucidly explained the use of zero as
both a placeholder and a decimal digit, along with the Hindu-Arabic numerals now used
universally throughout the world. Arabic translations of his texts (around 770) introduced
this number system to the Islamic world, where it was adapted as Arabic numerals.

The Siddhanta Shiromani was a mathematical astronomy text written by Bhaskara in

the 12th century. The 12 chapters of the first part cover topics such as: mean longitudes
of the planets; true longitudes of the planets; the three problems of diurnal rotation;
syzygies; lunar eclipses; solar eclipses; latitudes of the planets; risings and settings; the
moon's crescent; conjunctions of the planets with each other; conjunctions of the planets
with the fixed stars; and the patas of the sun and moon. The second part contains
thirteen chapters on the sphere. It covers topics such as: praise of study of the sphere;
nature of the sphere; cosmography and geography; planetary mean motion; eccentric
epicyclic model of the planets; the armillary sphere; spherical trigonometry; ellipse
calculations; first visibilities of the planets; calculating the lunar crescent; astronomical
instruments; the seasons; and problems of astronomical calculations.

From the 12th century, Bhaskara and various Keralese mathematicians first

conceived differential calculus, mathematical analysis, trigonometric series, floating
point numbers, and concepts foundational to the overall development of calculus. By the
end of the Middle Ages, iron rockets were developed in the kingdom of Mysore in South
India.

Science in China
Chinese gunpowder used during the Mongol Invasions of Japan, 1281.

China has a long and rich history of technological contribution. The Four Great
Inventions of ancient China (Chinese: 四大发明; Pinyin: Sì dà fā míng) are
the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing. These four discoveries had
an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization and a far-ranging
global impact. According to English philosopher Francis Bacon, writing in Novum
Organum,
Printing, gunpowder and the compass: These three have changed the whole face and
state of things throughout the world; the first in literature, the second in warfare, the
third in navigation; whence have followed innumerable changes, in so much that no
empire, no sect, no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human
affairs than these mechanical discoveries." ( Novum Organum, Liber I, CXXIX -
Adapted from the 1863 translation)

In regards to mathematics, two early works on mathematics were The Nine

Chapters on the Mathematical Art (九章算術) (composed in the 1st century CE but
perhaps as early as 200 BCE and the Suàn shù shū (discovered in a tomb from
186 BC, early in the Western Han dynasty). Most scholars believe that Chinese
mathematics and the mathematics of the ancient Mediterranean world developed
more or less independently up to the time when the Nine Chapters reached its
final form. In the third century Liu Hui wrote his commentary on the Nine Chapters
and also wrote Haidao suanjing which dealt with using Pythagorean theorem,
which in China was known as Gougu theorem, to measure the size of things. In
the fifth century the manual called "Zhang Qiujian suanjing" discussed linear and
quadratic equations. By this point the Chinese had the concept of negative
numbers. By the Tang Dynasty study of math was fairly standard in the great
schools. The thirteenth century saw a renaissance in Chinese mathematical
theory. This saw Chinese mathematicians solving equations with methods Europe
would not know until the eighteenth century. The high point of this era came with
Zhu Shijie's two books Suanxue qimeng and the Siyuan yujian. In one case he
reportedly gave a method equivalent to Gauss's pivotal condensation. He also
worked with a form of Pascal triangle in the thirteenth century, but called it "the
ancient method of powers up to the eighth." Other discoveries include negative
numbers, the binomial theorem, matrix methods for solving systems of linear
equations, the Chinese remainder theorem, and the rule of three

Western academic thought on the history of Chinese technology and science was
galvanized by the work of Joseph Needham and the Needham Research Institute.
Among the scientific accomplishments of China were early seismological
detectors, matches, the independent invention of the decimal system, dry docks,
sliding calipers, the double-action piston pump, cast iron, the iron plough, the
multi-tube seed drill, the wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge,
the parachute, natural gas as fuel, , the raised-relief map, the propeller,
the crossbow, a solid fuel rocket, and the cannon along with other contributions
in logic, astronomy, medicine, and numerous other fields.

The Middle Ages