June 12,
2025
Western Science
In ancient
times, all over the world, natural science (not yet distinct from other forms of
knowledge) was simply a rationalization of common experience.
The stars moved across the sky because they were embedded in spheres; earth and
water moved downward, while air and fire moved upward because that was their
nature.
Only with
Galileo (conventionally speaking) did people begin to understand that the Earth
is not the center of the universe. The law of universal gravitation was
discovered, the weight of air was measured, and later came an understanding of
how living beings function, microorganisms, electromagnetic waves, and so on.
Then came the construction of machines powered not just by human or animal
strength (like plows), but by engines: trains, cars, airplanes, electric lights,
gramophones, cinema, etc.
Later, in a second phase, from Einstein onward, came the so-called new physics: relativity, the curvature of space, the uncertainty principle, subatomic particles — and in terms of technology, atomic energy, computers, the web, artificial intelligence.
All of these developments were born and evolved in the West, but they are by no means a Western monopoly. It’s entirely possible that other countries may surpass us.