Year: 2015
Type: book-review
Abstract: This collection, which is based on a conference on new perspectives in Islamic science held in 1998 at MIT's Dibner Institute, provides a snapshot of current research in this rich field for specialists and non-specialists alike.Established scholars have contributed each of the 12 articles, and while they do not cover all fields (e.g., scientific instruments and theoretical astronomy are omitted), the articles are nevertheless wide-ranging.The editors, Jan P. Hogendijk and A. I. Sabra, have divided the articles into categories which are generally topical: cross-cultural transmission; transformations of Greek optics; mathematics; philosophy and practice; numbers, geometry, and architecture; 17th-century transmission of astronomy; and science and medicine in the Maghrib and al-Andalus.To provide an additional perspective, I will group the chapters into four general categories (Transmission; Critique; Awareness of Disciplines; and Theory, Practice, and Applications); and because the volume deserves a wide readership, I will attempt to explain the relevance of each chapter to the field of Islamic science and to the general history of science. TransmissionThose who use Hindu-Arabic numerals know something of the numerals' origin through their name.Hindu-Arabic numerals, though, resemble the numerals of the Muslim West much more closely than the numerals of the Muslim East.Paul Kunitzsch [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] addresses the transmission of these numerals (from the Muslim East to the Muslim West, in particular) and agrees with the scholarly consensus that the Arabs received their system of nine decimal numerals and a zero from India most likely in the eighth century (all dates are ad).
Authors: Jan P. Hogendijk (book editor), A. I. Sabra (book editor), Robert G. Morrison (review author)
Institution: Whitman College
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2734828201