Cross-Cultural Scientific Exchanges in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1560-1660

Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8018-9476-3
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 256 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 476 g

Avner Ben-Zaken reconsiders the fundamental question of how early modern scientific thought traveled between Western and Eastern cultures in the age of the so-called Scientific Revolution.

Through five meticulously researched case studies—in which he explores how a single obscure object or text moved in the Eastern world—Ben-Zaken reveals the intricate ways that scientific knowledge moved across cultures. His diligent exploration traces the eastward flow of post-Copernican cosmologies and scientific discoveries, showing how these ideas were disseminated, modified, and applied to local cultures.

Never before has a student of scientific traffic in the Mediterranean taken such pains to see precisely which instruments, books, and ideas first appeared where, in whose hands, by what means, and with what implications. In doing so, Ben-Zaken challenges accepted views of Western primacy in this fruitful exchange. He shows not only how Islamic cultures benefited from European scientific knowledge but also how Eastern understanding of classical Greek texts informed developments in the West.

Ben-Zaken’s mastery of different cultures and languages uniquely positions him to tell this intriguing story. His findings reshape our understanding of scientific discourse in this critical period and contribute to the growing field of cross-cultural Christian-Muslim studies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ben-Zaken, Avner

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: Incommensurable Cultures?
1. Trading Clocks, Globes, and Captives in the End Time
2. Exchanging Heliocentrism for Ur-Text
3. Transcending Time in the Scribal East
4. Converting Measurements and Invoking the "Linguistic Leviathan"
5. Exchanging Heavens and Hearts
Conclusion: From "Incommensurablility of Cultures" to Mutually Embraced Zones
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Ben-Zaken, Avner
Avner Ben-Zaken is the chair of the humanities program at Ono College, Israel. He specializes in the cross-cultural history of science and is the author of Cross-Cultural Scientific Exchanges in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1560–1660, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Avner Ben-Zaken is a former Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows.