islamic tradition capernican reception

Islamic Golden age

8th -14th century CE The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, scientific, and intellectual flourishing in the Islamic world, roughly spanning the 8th to the 14th century. This era was critical in preserving and advancing knowledge, much of which later influenced the European Renaissance.

• Vast trading empire, huge road network always busy with caravans ( the silk road)

• diverse people speaking all common languages

House of wisdom - bait al- hikmah

9th century a renowned intellectual center in Baghdad, established during the Islamic Golden Age under the Abbasid Caliphate. It was a hub for the translation, preservation, and advancement of knowledge.

Abbasid caliphs

The Abbasid Caliphs were rulers of the Abbasid Caliphate, a dynasty that governed the Islamic world after overthrowing the Umayyads in the 8th century CE. Their rule marked a significant period in Islamic history, especially during the Islamic Golden Age, characterized by cultural, scientific, and intellectual flourishing.

Al Biruni

was a renowned Persian scholar of the Islamic Golden Age, often considered one of history's greatest polymaths. He made significant contributions to various fields, including astronomy, mathematics, geography, history, and the natural sciences.

al-Ma'mun

as an Abbasid caliph who played a pivotal role in the Islamic Golden Age. He was known for his patronage of science, philosophy, and the arts, as well as his efforts to strengthen the Abbasid Caliphate.

Ibn Sina aka Avicenna

• Tried to reconcile the rational

philosophy of Aristotelianism and Neo-

Platonism with Islamic theology.

• wrote almost 450 treatises (philosophy,

medicine) –many in verse; developed

system of Avicennian Logic

• Medicine: the discovery of the

contagious nature of infectious diseases

and the introduction of quarantine;

aromatherapy

• Physics: Momentum; air thermometer;

finite speed of light; geological causes of

mountains

Ibn Rushd aka Averroes

was a prominent Andalusian philosopher, jurist, and polymath of the Islamic Golden Age. He is best known for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle, earning him the title "The Commentator" in medieval Europe. Advocated the compatibility of religion and philosophy, arguing that both were valid paths to truth.

Tusi couple

was an Andalusian polymath, philosopher, and Islamic jurist who made significant contributions to philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, and law. Known as "The Commentator" in medieval Europe, his extensive commentaries on Aristotle played a pivotal role in reintroducing and popularizing Aristotelian thought in both the Islamic world and Europe.

hay’a

real, physical cosmology in Platonic-Aristotelian tradition

reasons for decline

• Trading went from land to sea, the importance of the silk road declined

• The shift of economic power from Arabic/Islamic countries towards Europe

• Discovering the new world

• Invasions: Crusades; Mongols; the Ottomans

• Increased taxes, decreased freedom, corruption...

• Religious changes (mysticism, doctrinaire Islam)

optics

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect light. In historical contexts, optics has been a crucial area of scientific development, especially during the Islamic Golden Age and later during the Scientific Revolution.

Ibn al-Haytham - optics

was a pioneering scientist of the Islamic Golden Age, best known for his groundbreaking work in optics, mathematics, astronomy, and scientific methodology. He is often referred to as the "Father of Optics" due to his significant contributions to the understanding of light and vision.

Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics

11th century CE one of the most influential works in the history of science. Written around , this seven-volume treatise transformed the understanding of vision, light, and optics in both the Islamic world and later in Europe after its Latin translation (De Aspectibus).

copernican reception

Copernican reception refers to the way Nicolaus Copernicus’s heliocentric theory—proposed in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543)—was received and interpreted by scholars, religious authorities, and the broader public during the 16th and 17th centuries, and how knowledge from the Islamic Golden Age influenced the Copernican Revolution and its reception.