Toward a global science : mining civilizational knowledge
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Toward a global science : mining civilizational knowledge
(Race, gender, and science)
Indiana University Press, c1998
- : cl, alk. paper
- Other Title
-
Towards a global science
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-300) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Asian science such as mathematics, Chinese printing, gunpowder and the compass, all contributed to the development of European science. During the last few centuries, however, scientific contributions with Asian roots have diminished and been marginalized and deligitimised. Yet the center of the world economy today is shifting to Asia with shifts in science and technology bound to follow. "Toward a Global Science" is driven by the proposition that pre-Renaissance acquisition of Asian knowledge did not exhaust Asian civilization's potential contribution. There are many useful elements to modern science still lying hidden in Asian civilizational stores waiting to be mined.The author gives details of recent contributions from South Asian medicine, mathematics, and psychology and explores how South Asian inputs can be useful in navigating the philosophical and ethical problems raised by two dominant technologies of the future, namely biotechnology and information technology. As an illustrative example, it describes how a fruitful marriage of one technology - virtual reality - with South Asian philosophy can enliven both the technology as well as philosophy.
It also examines how Asian positions could be used to feed some key contemporary philosophical discussions on science.Using a model of the civilizational construction of science, the book views science without Eurocentric blinders. It documents how science was built initially by transfers from non-European civilizations and why the given historiography of science has to be rethought. Throughout the book the author gives examples of parallels and antecedents between East and West in science and estimates the potential reservoir of Asian knowledge in each field. The book also deals with the many knotty problems in recovering science from past traditions. The author distinguishes between his secular efforts from religious and other attempts that claim the equivalence of all knowledge systems.
by "Nielsen BookData"