FILM ASSIGNMENT 1 :
Jim Al Khalili, episode 3 : The Power of Doubt”
1. What factors contributed to the development and flourishing of science in the medieval Islamic world?
According to the documentary, Islam played a very significant role in the development of the medieval Islamic world as it has set extremely high standards of accuracy and precision. Islam required scholars to make precise observations regarding the movement of the heavenly bodies as Muslims needed to pray at very exact times of the day. This need for an accurate time marking led the astronaut Ibn Chater to calculate arrangements of specific lines for the “sundial” so as to know precisely when to call for each of the five prayers of the day. One of the most influential scholars …show more content…
This is when Ibn-Al-Haitham argued that a theory can only be valid if it reflects the observed reality and be mathematically consistent, which was not the case for the Greek traditions. At that time, Ibn Al Haitham set a challenge for all his next fellows and scholars, particularly Al-Toussi who re-wrote the adjusted Greek theory. Another important factor facilitating the evolution of science is the precision of Arabic, especially with its 70 different ways of writing and its extra symbols that allowed Islamic Scholars to communicate in a single common language.
2. What factors does Al-Khalili claim are responsible for the decline of Islamic science?
One of the factors responsible for the evolution of the European Science, and thus partly causing the Islamic Medieval science to fall behind is Copernicus great work which was mostly based on Islamic scholars preceding accurate work in Astronomical field. Copernicus was the first European to share Ibn al …show more content…
French & English colonizers were embarrassed with the fact that people they are conquering were as knowledgeable and sophisticated as them. Thus, to make their colonial enterprise more “acceptable”, Europeans nurtured and maintained their statement and refused to acknowledge the work of the great Islamic scholars and astronomers, reporting that their era was falling into decay. This Islamic World portraying shifted the superiority claims of Europeans from religion to scientific advancement and technology. All the previous claims and statements from the European world affected the Islamic Science History, and deliberately destroyed
Jim Al Khalili, episode 3 : The Power of Doubt”
1. What factors contributed to the development and flourishing of science in the medieval Islamic world?
According to the documentary, Islam played a very significant role in the development of the medieval Islamic world as it has set extremely high standards of accuracy and precision. Islam required scholars to make precise observations regarding the movement of the heavenly bodies as Muslims needed to pray at very exact times of the day. This need for an accurate time marking led the astronaut Ibn Chater to calculate arrangements of specific lines for the “sundial” so as to know precisely when to call for each of the five prayers of the day. One of the most influential scholars …show more content…
This is when Ibn-Al-Haitham argued that a theory can only be valid if it reflects the observed reality and be mathematically consistent, which was not the case for the Greek traditions. At that time, Ibn Al Haitham set a challenge for all his next fellows and scholars, particularly Al-Toussi who re-wrote the adjusted Greek theory. Another important factor facilitating the evolution of science is the precision of Arabic, especially with its 70 different ways of writing and its extra symbols that allowed Islamic Scholars to communicate in a single common language.
2. What factors does Al-Khalili claim are responsible for the decline of Islamic science?
One of the factors responsible for the evolution of the European Science, and thus partly causing the Islamic Medieval science to fall behind is Copernicus great work which was mostly based on Islamic scholars preceding accurate work in Astronomical field. Copernicus was the first European to share Ibn al …show more content…
French & English colonizers were embarrassed with the fact that people they are conquering were as knowledgeable and sophisticated as them. Thus, to make their colonial enterprise more “acceptable”, Europeans nurtured and maintained their statement and refused to acknowledge the work of the great Islamic scholars and astronomers, reporting that their era was falling into decay. This Islamic World portraying shifted the superiority claims of Europeans from religion to scientific advancement and technology. All the previous claims and statements from the European world affected the Islamic Science History, and deliberately destroyed