Essay on Muslims and Science
THEME OF ESSAY
Please read the short book 'Muslims and Science ' by Pervaiz Hoodhbhoy. Provide your views on the central argument of this book. Building on your knowledge from Bronowski and Sagan, what were the vital characteristics that allowed Western civilization to outpace Muslim civilization in the development of science in the modern period?
Muslims and Science
By
Zara Abbas(11020043)
Perspective
Ever since the advent of Islam in 7th Century, the Muslim civilization rapidly rose to the forefront of human achievement. Remarkable progress was made not only in the fields of sciences and philosophy – i.e. mathematics, astrology, astronomy, optics, cartography, medicine, anthropology, logic and literature – but they also became the dominant military and economic power of the world by the 13th Century. These accomplishments were made possible by a number of underlying factors prevailing at that time in Muslim history. The significant ones being the territorial and commercial expansion of Muslim influence to a vast area where a treasure trove of Greek, Persian and Roman works in science, medicine and philosophy was made available to their intellectuals to build upon; Patronage and encouragement was given to Muslim scholars by the ruling elite of that time, several universities were built in the Muslim lands and a spirit of freedom for inquisitive research across the religious divide was created and encouraged. But then, owing to a raging and endless conflict between the forces of logic and reason and those of rigid religious fundamentalism, Muslim Science lost its appeal and eventually disappeared into near oblivion. Resultantly, the culture of patronage of those seeking knowledge and the pursuit of excellence in the fields of sciences and the arts also died.
The Muslim World today, comprising 57 countries and 1.57 billion people – which is roughly one fifth of the world population - has made no significant contribution to science or offered
Please read the short book 'Muslims and Science ' by Pervaiz Hoodhbhoy. Provide your views on the central argument of this book. Building on your knowledge from Bronowski and Sagan, what were the vital characteristics that allowed Western civilization to outpace Muslim civilization in the development of science in the modern period?
Muslims and Science
By
Zara Abbas(11020043)
Perspective
Ever since the advent of Islam in 7th Century, the Muslim civilization rapidly rose to the forefront of human achievement. Remarkable progress was made not only in the fields of sciences and philosophy – i.e. mathematics, astrology, astronomy, optics, cartography, medicine, anthropology, logic and literature – but they also became the dominant military and economic power of the world by the 13th Century. These accomplishments were made possible by a number of underlying factors prevailing at that time in Muslim history. The significant ones being the territorial and commercial expansion of Muslim influence to a vast area where a treasure trove of Greek, Persian and Roman works in science, medicine and philosophy was made available to their intellectuals to build upon; Patronage and encouragement was given to Muslim scholars by the ruling elite of that time, several universities were built in the Muslim lands and a spirit of freedom for inquisitive research across the religious divide was created and encouraged. But then, owing to a raging and endless conflict between the forces of logic and reason and those of rigid religious fundamentalism, Muslim Science lost its appeal and eventually disappeared into near oblivion. Resultantly, the culture of patronage of those seeking knowledge and the pursuit of excellence in the fields of sciences and the arts also died.
The Muslim World today, comprising 57 countries and 1.57 billion people – which is roughly one fifth of the world population - has made no significant contribution to science or offered
Bibliography: • Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books , 1991) • Bernard Lewis , “What Went Wrong?” (Perennial Harper Collins 2002) • Jacob Bronowski, “The Ascent of Man” (1973) • Carl Sagan, “Cosmos” (1980) [2] Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books ,1991) pg 2 &161. [3]Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books ,1991),pg 115 – 141. [4]Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books ,1991) pg 145 – 149. [5] Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books ,1991), pg 149 – 154. [6] Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books ,1991), pg 154 – 156. [7] Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books ,1991), pg 157 – 160. [8] Bernard Lewis , “What Went Wrong?” (Perennial Harper Collins 2002), pg 18 – 34. [9]Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books , 1991), pg 161. [10]Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, “Muslims & Science – Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality” (Vanguard Books , 1991), pg 34 – 37. [15] Khawar Ghumman, “Only two percent of GDP Spent on Education”, Dawn.Com, (5 Jun 2010) , < http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/21-only-2pc-of-gdp-spent-on-education-560-sk-09 >