What is Science? A simple and comprehensive definition is that it comprises a systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. With the evolution of science, we see its definition has also undergone a significant change. Science, as we understand it today is synonymous with experiment, while this has not always been the case. Greeks, who are acknowledged by an overwhelming majority as the harbingers of science, relied more on observation than experimentation. Science, articulates laws of nature, through observation of certain regularities; these laws are examined under a critical lens and explained by causes which are “rational”.
The American physicist, Feynman, prefers to enunciate what is “not” Science. He believes the words and definitions, that are so often emphasized, is not really Science. Teaching them may be essential but it is important to distinguish between “the tools to teach Science” and “what is Science”. Very often in the maze of definitions, we lose the spirit of learning what Science is. Feynman’s father encouraged him to observe. An enjoyable walk in the woods observing birds, with his father, led to a lifelong habit of “observation”. Although he didn’t have immediate answers, there developed in him the essential quality of patience and the faith that however infrequent, insights would come through observation.
Finally, he arrived at his own definition of Science – It is the result of the discovery, which is re-checked by new direct experience and not necessarily checked against past experience as a yardstick.
Finally, it is important to mention our limitation in grasping the full limit of science; as the range of human senses is highly restricted. We are not just speaking of going beyond the senses to discover the infinite mine of knowledge (as posited by the Rishis, the scientists of Ancient India, in the Upanishads). Even as compared to the olfactory sense of dogs and ultrasonic echolocation of bats, we severely lag behind. In that sense, our knowledge will be partial, if restricted only to the senses.
It is worthwhile to make a mention of the different Sciences, before we embark on the exploration of the History of Science. a) The Physical Sciences cover: Physics and Chemistry; b) The Life Sciences encompass: Biology, Botany, Zoology, Human Biology and Physiology, Anatomy and Genetic Science, Medicine and finally c) The Earth Sciences can be classified into Ecology, Oceanology, Meteorology, Geology, Paleontology.
History of Science
Should we consider the evolution of the Sciences in different countries or look at how each of the Sciences evolved independently? Science did not function independently of our political, religious, philosophical, social and economic life. The historical evolution of science mirrors the history of the human civilization itself. Scientists such as Kepler, Darwin and Newton borrowed from philosophy to arrive at path-breaking ideas. We also see Plato, Aristotle and Kant influence the progress of science. Therefore “time” and the History of Science in different epochs seems the most comprehensive way of studying the History of Science.
3 ancient civilizations are exclusively mentioned here, due to records of significant advances made in science, but did not progress in Modern Science to the extent of Western Science or were not given their due credit for their ancient treatises. They lacked in one or more factors: lack of authentic documentation of their work; lack of research and authentic chronology of their writings or not progressing further in their scientific enquiry due to their religious and philosophical ideologies, in some cases to the exclusion of reason.
Science in Ancient India
While ancient Indian literature have references to science, no comprehensive studies of ancient Indian science exist. The problems encountered are debates regarding the chronology of the Vedas and other ancient literature – 2000 B.C is the most conservative estimate of the period associated with the Rig Veda. The Rig Veda speaks of a cosmic order; the subject matter of the Upanishads is absolute reality and several Hymns, such as the Nasadiya Suktam, touch upon the nature of the Universe, before it evolved as we know it. The language of the Vedic works was unknown to historians and scientists alike. The predominant interpreters were scholars of religious studies and authorities belonging to the ancient monastic orders.
There has been an increasing interest since the end of the 19th century, in the Indian monastic orders, to bring forth this knowledge to the masses and to illustrate the definite connection between Science and Spirituality and to demonstrate that where one ends in finding the answers, the other begins its search. In the Indian philosophic tradition, and, as we will see going forward, in philosophies that developed in other countries, theology was intrinsically linked with science. The ancient Indian systems believed, understanding the external world can never be complete without understanding the inner world (nature of man).
Coming to physical and mathematical sciences – Seidenberg showed that Indian geometry predates Greek geometry by centuries. Pingala, used binary numbers in his science of Vedic metres. Several western researchers have shown the inspiration in the field of computing system and medicine from India. In Mathematics and Astronomy, we see the contribution of Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Bhaskara and Madhava.
Science in Ancient China
Similar to Greece, Ancient China also saw philosophers take a lead in science, technology, mathematics and astronomy. Comets, solar eclipses and supernovae were first recorded by the Chinese. The compass, gunpowder, paper making and printing are the 4 most celebrated inventions of Ancient China. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture were practiced and writings on medicine date back to 11th – 3rd century BC. They seemed to be the forerunners in instruments, inventing time-keeping and counting devices, including the abacus. Most of the discoveries and inventions date back to 2000 – 500 BC.
Science in Mesopotamia
In the 7th century BC, scientific treatises on observational astronomy, in the cuneiform script were prevalent in Mesopotamia. This was before written science appeared in Ancient Greece. Similar to India and China, we see evidence on the development of science outside of Greece and before science started to flourish in Greece.
Contribution of Greeks
Greeks believed they lived in a cosmos, a well-ordered place and that mysteries of the universe could be discovered. Things did not happen only by the will of the Gods or they didn’t believe it to the extent that other civilizations believed it. Secondly, they also believed that all parts of the Universe, served a purpose in their own capacity and moved towards their destiny, referred to as Teleology.
Their penetrating inquiry and purposeful pursuit of knowledge led to the blossoming of sciences such as astronomy, biology and mathematics.
Thales (6th Century BC), is considered the first natural philosopher of the Greek tradition, credited with predicting a solar eclipse, inventing the study of geometry and from whom the above 2 aspects of Greeks’ approach emerged. His findings invited criticism from different quarters and thus emerged the critical tradition, so crucial for the progress of science. Questions that emerged from his work were answered by Pythagoras, leading to the emergence of mathematical physics. Though concrete evidence shows that the Babylonians had discovered and proven the Pythagorean Theorem, 1000 years before Pythagoras was born.
Aristotle and Archimedes were other notable figures in Greek science. Aristotle’s work in biology provided the basic material till Charles Darwin’s exposition. His methodology was that of observation and not experiment, which involves changes to the natural condition to reveal a multitude of scenarios. His contribution to mathematics and its usage in his treatises is widely acknowledged.
In the History of science, we consistently see the work of previous eras, contributing significantly to on-going findings. The previous work may well be subjected to harsh treatment, but it was from this “lesser truth” that “higher truth” emerged. What is unraveled at a given point in time, is held to be true, till further evidence is unearthed.
This was true of Aristotle’s work as well, especially with regard to his imposition of astral religion on the area of Physics.
The contribution of the Greeks to medicine is legendary, with Hippocrates (5th century BC) first declaring that disease was natural and made a dramatic shift from the ancient view across civilizations that divine reasons stood behind disease.
When Greece was conquered by Rome, the latter’s culture permeated the prevalent way of thinking. The result was a dilution of the existing spirit of inquiry, though it wasn’t completely lost. Christianity seemed to predominate amongst the various religions that the Roman empire hosted within its precincts. Unique exchange of theological and scientific ideas took place. When the Roman Empire fell, the precious ancient learning was faithfully copied by monks in monasteries and preserved for future generations.
Middle Ages
The early Middle Ages, referred to as the Dark Ages, falls within the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. On the one hand it is seen as a period of cultural decline, on the other hand many historians believe there were great strides made within this period including: discoveries in Chemistry; establishment of the oldest Universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Sorbonne, Padua); scientific advances in power generation and Gothic architecture. The Roman Catholic Church had a strong hold during this period and a fair majority believe this thwarted science from flourishing. It is believed the ancient work of the Greeks passed onto the Islamic culture and during the succeeding conquests, the works came back to the west. This period saw a critical examination of the ancient learning of the Greeks but primarily through a theological lens.
Rise of Modern Science
Renaissance
Practical needs of nations, pertaining to progress in navigation, warfare and military gave rise to intellectuals, especially in Italy, which witnessed the sprouting of the famous Renaissance period. Aristotle’s findings were re-examined but through experimental performance. Discovery of the new world, towards the end of the 15th century, refuted the prior findings of Ptolemy, the great astronomer. Thus, giving a boost to mathematics and navigation science as an area of study. Practical considerations drove science and strengthened the belief that certain processes could be applied to nature, that would yield results conducive to meet the needs of man.
The Scientific Revolution
With the Renaissance period as the guiding force, what emerged was a flood of scientific thought with focus on utility of science. Scientists such as Copernicus in the 16th century and Isaac Newton in the 17th century revolutionized scientific thought. Greek science was not the authority anymore, after holding fort for almost 2000 years.
Nicolaus Copernicus placed the Sun at the center of the cosmos, in his seminal work, just before his death. Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler contributed further to Copernicus’ work – infusing the concepts of elliptical orbits and bringing in precision to their observations through calibrated instruments but there still remained several questions. Galileo Galilei used the telescope to alter fundamental views of the cosmology and also contributed to the science of mechanics.
Finally, it was Sir Isaac Newton who presented his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy and thereby corroborated the work of the predecessors mentioned earlier. His contributions being invention of calculus; formulating the theory of universal gravity and transforming natural philosophy into modern physical science. Eminent scientists of the 18th century include Pierre-Simon Laplace, Joseph Priestley, Alessandro Volta and Leonhard Euler to name a few.
In chemistry, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier did path-breaking work during the 18th century, highlighting the role of oxygen in combustion and respiration.
Organized Societies were the norm, with the 18th century witnessing establishment of a number of scientific academies.
Modern Science after the Industrial Revolution
The trajectory that science followed can be encapsulated in Sir Isaac Newton’s words “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”.
Modern science, understood as science of the present times, which is specialized and with a vast number of branches, was born out of the pain-staking work of people of eminence in fields as disparate as philosophy, astronomy, theology, mathematics, biology and art. Modern science has the distinctive characteristic of distancing itself from theology and suggestions of divine intervention in its system of inquiry. Modern Science took on its characteristics of observation, experiment, measurement and formulation of laws from several centuries of trial and error in diverse fields of knowledge.
After the 1st and successive Industrial Revolutions, we see application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes on a large scale. There was a move from manual production to machinery, chemical manufacturing, iron production and use of steam power.
The 19th century witnessed several breakthroughs. It saw the rise of Darwinism, the theory of evolution by natural selection was propounded in the year 1859 by Charles Darwin. Biology made great strides in this century with the Germ Theory being put forth by the French chemist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur. In chemistry, Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the chemical elements in a systematic way, giving birth to the Periodic table in 1871. The beginning of the 20th century, took the world of physics by storm with the Special Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein. The new suggestions were enough for scientists and researchers to grapple with for a long time to come, as they touched the outer most limits of science.
Nano-technology, explosive growth of information technology, nuclear physics, genetic engineering and improvements in instrumentation and model-building with computers were all features of the 20th century. The scientific advances in the 19th and 20th century saw a high level of specialization in each branch as well as cross-fertilization of knowledge between the branches. Conferences became the common ground for debate and organized scientific research and private laboratories were established. Their role was the application of scientific knowledge and contribution to fundamental research.
Questions
As we touch the boundaries of discoveries in physical, life and earth sciences, the areas science seeks to investigate are changing. If we are bold enough to claim that we have discovered basic laws governing the universe, the elements, organisms and eco-systems supporting them, our task now seems to be to use science to:
- Correct the damage we have inflicted on the very areas we diligently studied. Example – cures for diseases to living things caused due to human intervention.
- Develop man-made structures, elements, materials, instruments and using human ingenuity for individual and collective well-being.
- Achieve greater precision, speed, information storage and dissemination in all branches of science. Specifically, achieving more with less resources, energy and harm.
- Learn from the mistakes we have committed in the application of science. Example being the use of nuclear energy for destructive purposes to mention only one.
Clearly, modern science has been shaped by the history of science as: a) We have chosen to deepen our understanding on subjects studied by predecessors and b) Our present and future is guided by how science is being applied/has been applied by the scientific community, governments and industries that deploy resources and inventions. In another sense, the overwhelming economic benefits derived from science, over the entire span of history, has been a strong driving force in the funding that is put into scientific research. If that is the case, will science progress for the benefit of humanity as a whole or only a select few, remains the question.
If we believe, we have not come close to examining the depth of science, a question of even deeper significance emerges: Will we pursue science for the sake of pure knowledge; rather than weighing it constantly for the benefits of the outcome of the study? Are we seekers of knowledge or of only material benefits?
References
[1] oxfordreference.com
[2] britannica.com/science/history-of-science
[3] feynman.com/science/what-is-science
[4] William D Stansfield, Science and the Senses (Featured Article in The American Biology Teacher)
[5] The History of Science, Monist; George Sarton, 1916
[6] Subhash C Kak, Science in Ancient India, 2005
[7] Subhash C Kak, Science in Ancient India, 2005
[8] newworldencyclopedia.org
[9] Rita Watson and Wayne Horowitz, Writing Science before the Greeks – A Naturalistic Analysis of the
Babylonian Astronomical Treatise MUL.APIN, 2011
[10] Gregory, Andrew; Ancient Greece and the Origins of Science, 2005
[11] britannica.com/science/history-of-science
[12] britannica.com/science/history-of-science
[13] Bruce Ratner, Pythagoras: Everyone Knows his famous Theorem, but not who discovered it 1000 years
before him, 2009
[14] plato.stanford.edu/entries/Aristotle-mathematics
[15] britannica.com/science/history-of-science
[16] britannica.com/science/history-of-science
[17] Arthur Rorsch, The Progress of Science – Past, Present and Future, 2014
[18] plato.stanford.edu/entries/newton; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
[19] Arthur Rorsch, The Progress of Science – Past, Present and Future, 2014
[20] Arthur Rorsch, The Progress of Science – Past, Present and Future, 2014
