The Rise of Early Modern Science
Islam, China, and the West
3rd Edition
Published on 15. June 2017
Book
Hardback
396 pages
978-1-107-13021-0 (ISBN)
Description
Now in its third edition, The Rise of Early Modern Science argues that to understand why modern science arose in the West it is essential to study not only the technical aspects of scientific thought but also the religious, legal and institutional arrangements that either opened the doors for enquiry, or restricted scientific investigations. Toby E. Huff explores how the newly invented universities of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the European legal revolution, created a neutral space that gave birth to the scientific revolution. Including expanded comparative analysis of the European, Islamic and Chinese legal systems, Huff now responds to the debates of the last decade to explain why the Western world was set apart from other civilisations.
Reviews / Votes
'A remarkable and eminently readable blend of rich historical details and analysis of the rise of modern science. An exemplar of how comparative historical sociology of science ought to be done.' Zaheer Baber, author of The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization and Colonial Rule in India 'Why did the scientific revolution take place in Europe and not in China or in the Islamic world? Toby E. Huff gives this controversial question an extraordinarily wide-ranging and deep examination. Surprisingly, the answer may lie largely in the nature of Western educational institutions and in the structure of Western law.' Owen gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and History of Science, Harvard Smithsonian Center of AstrophysicsMore details
Edition
3rd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
16 Halftones, black and white; 8 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
746 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-107-13021-0 (9781107130210)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2017
Cambridge University Press
€27.99
Available for download
E-Book
06/2017
3rd Edition
Cambridge University Press
€32.49
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
08/2003
2nd Edition
Cambridge University Press
€108.94
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Toby E. Huff is a research associate in the Department of Astronomy, Harvard University, Massachusetts, and Chancellor Professor in Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He has lectured in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and has lived in Malaysia. Huff is the author of Intellectual Curiosity and the Scientific Revolution: A Global Perspective (Cambridge, 2011) and coeditor of Max Weber and Islam (with Wolfgang Schluchter, 1999).
Content
Introduction; Part I: 1. The comparative study of science; 2. Arabic science and the Islamic world; 3. Philosophy, science, and civilizational configurations; 4. The European legal revolution; 5. Madrasas and the transmitted sciences; 6. Universities and the institutionalization of science; Part II: 7. Science and civilization in China; 8. Education, examinations, and Neo-Confucianism; 9. Poverties and triumphs of Chinese science; Part III: 10. The rise of modern science; Epilogue: science, history and development.