Adversaries and authorities. Investigations into ancient Greek and Chinese science.

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996. XVII,250p. Paperback. Upper part front and back cover near spine a bit bumped. Series: Ideas in Context. 'Are contemporary differences in arts and sciences between East Asia and the West founded in the civilizations of ancient Greece and china? L.'s investigation into the methodology of science in the two cultures from the beginnings in the fifth century B.C.E. to the third century C.E. provides ammunition for both sides in the debate. (...) Unlike his predecessors (...)who were more concerned with the question of why modern discoveries did not originate in China, L. gives a brief examination of the common features of Greek and Chinese sciences but focuses on the philosophic, social, and cultural aspects which made science as a whole, and astronomy, mathematics, and medicine in particular, develop differently in ancient Greece and China. Being well aware of the danger of generalizations within a single culture and of general views crossing cultures, L. tentatively compares the Greek and Chinese attitudes towards a number of issues and attempts to solve some commonly recognized problems. (...) One of the lessons learnt from 'Adversaries and Authorities' is that investigation of the underlying reasons for similariies and differences is more important than simply annotating divergence and oncvergence, and that is why there have been serious weaknesses in earlier contrasts between Greek and Chinese perceptions of scientific method. (...) L. limits his research to comparing Chinese and Greek scientific methodologies along with attitudes to debate and deductive reasoning, with the focus on meathematics, medecinem, and astronomy. But this limitations inevitably weakens the strong link in both cultures between science and metaphysics. (...) L. also underplays the contrast between the moralistic tendency inherent in the scientific approach of earlier Chinese thinkers such as Confucius, Mengzi, and Gaozi in the fourth century B.C.E. and the intellectual orientation of Greek philosophers. (...) A study of Greek rationality vs. Chinese morality may solve some of the puzzles in the comparison of the two cultures and philosophies, but meantime there is plenty to ponder here.' (M.R. WRIGHT and XINZHONG YAO in The classical Review (New Series), 1999, pp.541-43). From the library of Professor Carl Deroux.