He Origin of science It goes back to antiquity, arising from the technology that gave rise to the first tools and crafts.
The combination of religion and astronomy was fundamental in the beginning. In this way, the history of science is intertwined with religion, technology and, in turn, with other aspects of culture.
The origin of the technology could be considered in the Prehistory, although in the one of the science has been established later.
The history of science studies the development of scientific knowledge in the subjects of the natural sciences, social sciences and science in general. It is a body of empirical, theoretical and practical knowledge about the natural world.
Scientists emphasize observation, explanation and prediction of real-world phenomena. The historiography of science implements the methodology to apply to the study of its history.
Stages in the origin of science
1- Science in the Middle East
The first civilizations located in the Tigris-Euphrates and Nile valleys developed both technology and theory. The handicraft class was the manager of advances in metallurgy, agriculture, transport and shipping, war chariots and shipyards.
The priests and the scribes were in charge of the maintenance of records, the division of the earth and the determination of the calendar. To fulfill these purposes, they developed written language and mathematics.
The Babylonians devised methods for solving algebraic equations and collected astronomical records that served to calculate the periods of the revolution of the planets and cycles of eclipses. They designed a year of 12 months and a week of 7 days, and organized the division of the day into hours, minutes and seconds.
Egypt was noted for advances in mathematics, astronomy and the beginnings of medicine. Wheeled vehicles and bronze metallurgy, known already by the Sumerians in Babylon from 3000 BC, were imported into Egypt (1750 BC).
The Armenians, for their part, discovered the iron foundry, back in 1400 BC. And 1100 BC. The Phoenicians developed the alphabets.
2- Greeks and science
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Ancient Greek culture approached science differently. Ionian philosophers displaced the gods from classical roles in the cosmologies of Babylon and Egypt and sought to order the world according to philosophical principles.
The precursor Thales of Miletus (6th century BC), was devoted to astronomy, geometry and cosmology. Anaximander Spread his ideas and raised the universe composed of four basic elements: earth, air, fire and water. This theory adhered Empedocles , From Sicily (5th century BC).
The Philosophers Leucipo Y Democritus (5th century BCE), affirmed that everything was composed of small indivisible atoms. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras of Samos (6th century BC) developed the concept of number as the central theme.
The Pythagoreans explained the functioning of the universe in terms of whole numbers and their proportions. They left a legacy to mathematics and philosophy, biology and anatomy.
Hippocrates , Father of medicine, was the creator of the science of diagnosis, based on accurate descriptions of the symptoms of numerous diseases. The greats of this period are the philosophers Plato (427-347 a.C.) and Aristotle (384-322 BCE), whose influence persists.
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3- The Schools of Alexandria
Greek culture expanded by other conquered cities, such as Alexandria, Egypt, founded in 332 BC. by Alexander the Great .
They stood out Euclid (300 a.C.) that organized the axiomatic system of flat geometry still in force, Eratosthenes (3rd century BC) approached an accurate estimate of the size of the land, Aristarchus (3rd century BC) claimed that the sun was larger than the earth and suggested a heliocentric model. Archimedes (287-212 bc) contributed to mathematics and mechanics.
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The second Alexandrian school flourished in the first centuries of the Christian era, with Rome as the main power in the Mediterranean.
Ptolemy (2nd century BC) proposed the geocentric system of the universe that would dominate astronomical thought for 1400 years and Heron Contributed to geometry and pneumatics. Galen practiced medicine and performed important anatomical studies.
4- Science in China and India
East and West have passed different paths in the times and the development of science. However, many societies fervently adhered to the classical model, based on the rigorous interaction of theory and experiment.
China
Science was subject to philosophy and theology: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism. The agricultural society stimulated the separation of theory for the educated classes and experimentation for the lower classes, the artisans.
Astronomy and mathematics were used for practical purposes, such as the calendar. Previously, they invented the abacus, the shadow watch and the comets. They also devised a system of writing by symbols.
Metallurgy, alchemy and medicine, albeit linked to religious and philosophical doctrines, made important discoveries. Compass, gunpowder, paper and printing revolutionized everything known.
India
They handled mathematics very well and practiced surgical procedures and sutures. They developed an alphabetic script and a numerical system based on the position value including a zero.
This contribution was adopted by the Arabs and combined with their numeral system. Important Hindu scientists in the sixth and seventh centuries. to. C., excelled in astronomy and mathematics. The Greek influence was reflected in the geocentric systems of astronomy, and the Babylonian in algebra.
References
- Pearce Williams, L... (2015). History of science. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on britannica.com.
- History of science. Study of the historical development of science and scientific knowledge. Recovered at en.m.wikipedia.org.
- VIDEO: The Origin of Science - Carl Sagan. Retrieved from youtube.com.
- The Beginnings of Science. Infoplease. Retrieved at infoplease.com.
- Practical Applications in the Ancient Middle East. Retrieved at infoplease.com.
- Grisolía, M. (2007). Inquiring about the integration of sciences. Retrieved from Scielo.org.ve.
- The Hippocratic Oath. Retrieved from image.slidesharecdn.com.
- Casselman, B. One of the oldest diagrams of Euclid (100 BC). University of British Columbia. Recovered at en.m.wikipedia.org.