Module 1 Notes: Cultural and Intellectual Traditions
Module 1: Historical and Intellectual Traditions ## Cultural Zones (circa 1400 CE) * By 1400, Afro-Eurasia was divided into several distinct cultural zones: * Eastern Christendom * Western Christendom * Dar-al-Islam * East Asia (predominantly Confucian-Mahayana Buddhist) * South-Southeast Asia (a blend of Hindu-Theravada Buddhist-Islamic + indigenous traditions) ## Greek Intellectual Tradition ### Key Philosophers * Socrates (469−398 BCE) * Plato (427−346 BCE) * Aristotle (384−321 BCE) ### Scientists, Mathematicians, and Physicians * Archimedes (c. 287 BC - 212 BC) * Founded the sciences of mechanics and hydrostatics. * Calculated pi (π) precisely. * Devised the law of exponents. * Created new geometrical proofs. * Invented numerous ingenious mechanical devices. * Democritus (c. 460 - c. 370 BC) * Devised an atomic theory featuring tiny particles always in motion, interacting through collisions. * Advocated for a universe with an infinity of diverse, inhabited worlds, governed by natural, mechanistic laws rather than gods. * Deduced that the light of stars explains the Milky Way's appearance. * Discovered that a cone's volume is one-third of the cylinder with the same base and height, i.e., V<em>cone=31V</em>cylinder. * Aristarchus (c. 310 BC - c. 230 BC) * Promoted the idea that the Earth follows a circular orbit around the Sun, a concept that was resurrected by Nicolaus Copernicus 18 centuries later. * Eratosthenes (c. 276 BC - c. 194 BC) * Accurately calculated Earth's size over 2,200 years ago. * Founded the science of geography. * Devised the famous prime number sieve. * Euclid (c. 325 - c. 270 BC) * Authored The Elements, the most famous and most published mathematical work in history. * His other great work, Optics, explained light's behavior using geometrical principles, which served as the basis for artistic perspective, astronomical methods, and navigation for over 2,000 years. * Hippocrates (460 BC - c. 370 BC) * Known as the