Abstract
This article is an overview of the Arab-Islamic reception and development of Hellenistic science. It particularly refers to mathematics, physics and astronomy. It focuses on the following topics: 1) Two interpretative models of this reception in the 19th, 20th, and 21st century scholarship: the “Indo-European model” (which supposes a cultural heterogeneity between Greece and Islam) and the “cosmopolitan Hellenistic model” (which supposes homogeneity between the two). 2) The channels through which Hellenistic science was transmitted to the Islamic world: the philological channel, and the oral channel which implies the pre-existence of a common Greek-Semitic cultural ground that made this transmission possible. 3) Three features of the Arab-Islamic sciences that highlight their essential contribution to the emergence of modern science in 16th and 17th century Europe: 3.1. The “democratising” character of the Arab-Islamic sciences resulting from a larger diffusion of literacy. 3.2. The higher precision of measurements and calculations. 3.3. The experimental approach of Muslim scientists. A positive role in the accomplishment of these advances has been played by the non-metaphysical character of orthodox Islamic monotheism. According to Muslim orthodoxy, there are no Neo-Platonic intermediaries between the almighty God and his creation. The whole universe is submitted to the same physical laws. I argue that today it is important to open an interdisciplinary debate on the Arab-Islamic sciences. It would certainly lead to a better appreciation of their historical contribution. It could also suggest answers to contemporary epistemological impasses deriving from the growing gap between the humanities and the sciences.
Highlights
This article is an overview of the Arab-Islamic reception and development of Hellenistic science
The purpose of this article was to provide a critical overview of the Arab-Islamic reception and development of Hellenistic science
I referred to Arab-Islamic mathematics, physics and astronomy, I mentioned the Arab historian Ibn Khaldūn for his early scientific and materialistic approach to historiography
Summary
This article is an overview of the Arab-Islamic reception and development of Hellenistic science. The 19th century Indo-European interpretative model of the reception of Greek philosophy and science in pre-modern Islam is well exemplified by the position of the 19th century French Orientalist Ernest Renan. The second interpretative model of the reception of Greek philosophy and science in medieval Islam, which I called the cosmopolitan “Hellenistic model”, appeared in the 20th century. In the field of the history of science, Rashed (2004) focuses on the same unity and continuity in the history of the Mediterranean, saying that the birth of modern science in Europe relies upon the emergence of a “new rationality”, “algebraic and experimental”, in the Arab world as early as the 9th century This new rationality can be called, in brief, algebraic and experimental.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
