In most English-speaking countries, we are taught categorically nothing about the historical development of the scientific method in secondary school. Those of us who touch upon this topic at undergraduate level are typically taught that the scientific method was innovated during the 16th and 17th centuries by the likes of Francis Bacon. It just happens to be a blatant Atlantocentric lie. By comparison, one thing I find impressive about the educational systems in many post-Soviet republics is that they give proper historical emphasis to the contributions of 11th century Persians like Ibn Sina and Omar Khayyam to the developement of empiricism. Refreshingly, most post-Soviet people dont exhibit some deep-seated need to believe that all of historys great ideas are of European origin. Unfortunately, this observation does not extend to Ukraine, where the educational system has deteriorated appallingly since Soviet times and where, resultingly, the prevalence of pseudo-histories is a parody of itself. Admittedly, second-level students in Russia and many other post-Soviet societies are not taught about other intellectual stars produced by Islams golden age - for example Al Ghazali, Ibn Rushd or Ibn Khaldun. But then again, great scientists tend to have a cult of personality built up around them more than great philosophers, historians or jurists do - that pretty much holds everywhere.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 17:26:50 +0000
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