Physics in the medieval Islamic world

The natural sciences saw various advancements during the Golden Age of Islam (from roughly the mid 8th to the mid 13th centuries), adding a number of innovations to the Transmission of the Classics (such as Aristotle, Ptolemy, Euclid, Neoplatonism).[1] During this period, Islamic theology was encouraging of thinkers to find knowledge.[2] Thinkers from this period included Al-Farabi, Abu Bishr Matta, Ibn Sina, al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham and Ibn Bajjah.[3] These works and the important commentaries on them were the wellspring of science during the medieval period. They were translated into Arabic, the lingua franca of this period.

Islamic scholarship in the sciences had inherited Aristotelian physics from the Greeks and during the Islamic Golden Age developed it further. However the Islamic world had a greater respect for knowledge gained from empirical observation, and believed that the universe is governed by a single set of laws. Their use of empirical observation led to the formation of crude forms of the scientific method.[4] The study of physics in the Islamic world started in Iraq and Egypt.[5] Fields of physics studied in this period include optics, mechanics (including statics, dynamics, kinematics and motion), and astronomy.

  1. ^ Classical Arabic Philosophy An Anthology of Sources, Translated by Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2007. pg. xix
  2. ^ Bakar, Osman. The History and Philosophy of Islamic Science. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1999. pg. 2
  3. ^ Al-Khalili, Jim. "The 'first true scientist'". Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  4. ^ I.A., Ahmad (1995). "The Impact of the Qur'anic Conception of Astronomical Phenomena on Islamic Civilization" (PDF). Vistas in Astronomy. pp. 395–403. Bibcode:1995VA.....39..395A. doi:10.1016/0083-6656(95)00033-X.
  5. ^ Thiele, Rüdiger (August 2005), "In Memoriam: Matthias Schramm, 1928–2005", Historia Mathematica, 32 (3): 271–274, doi:10.1016/j.hm.2005.05.002

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