Sarton George. History of Science: Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

Dover Publications, 2012. — 688 p. — ISBN 9780486144986, 0486144984.George Sarton (1884–1956) was a Belgian-American chemist and historian who is considered the founder of the discipline of history of science. He has a significant importance in the history of science and his most influential work was the Introduction to the History of Science, which consists of three volumes and 4,296 pages. Sarton's ultimate goal was to achieve an integrated philosophy of science that provided a connection between the sciences and the humanities, which he referred to as «the new humanism».«There are few scholars or scientists today who write as beautifully or as interestingly as [Sarton]... [his] book is magnificent.» — Ashley Montagu, Saturday ReviewAlthough science did not begin in ancient Greece (millennia of work in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and other regions preceded Greek efforts) it is nevertheless true that methodic, rational investigation of the natural universe originated largely with early Hellenic thinkers. Thus, the major part of this book is of necessity devoted to Greece. Drawing wherever possible on original sources, Dr. Sarton, one of the world's foremost historians of science, paints a vivid and illuminating picture of mathematics, astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, and other sciences as they emerged from the mists of prehistory and ultimately flourished within the context of Greek society.
The book is divided into three parts.
Part One begins with the earliest evidence of prehistoric mathematics, astronomy, and other science. Dr. Sarton then describes the achievements of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the dawn of Greek culture and the remarkable flowering of Ionian science in the sixth century B.C. Thales of Miletos, Anaximandrox, and Xenophanes are among the important figures discussed. An entire chapter focuses on the influential doctrines of Pythagoras.
Part Two opens with the glory of Athens in the fifth century B.C. and its magnificent achievements in poetry and the arts, philosophy, and science. Described in lucid detail are groundbreaking contributions of Heracleitos, Anaxagoras, Protagoras, Zenon of Elea, Parmenides, Democritos, and many others. Also included in this section are perceptive discussions of geographers and historians of the fifth century (Herodotos, Thucydides, and others) and Greek medicine of the fifth century (chiefly Hippocratic).
Part Three focuses on the extraordinary Greek thinkers of the fourth century B.C.: Plato and the Academy, Aristotle, Xenophon and many others, including such important schools of thought as the cynics, stoics, skeptics, and epicureans. Major attention is given to mathematics, astronomy and physics, natural sciences and medicine, Aristotelian humanities, and historiography and other topics.
«Of great value to the general historian and an exciting, arresting story for the lay reader.»— The Yale ReviewOriental and greek origins.
The dawn of science.
Early technical problems - prehistoric travel and trade - prehistoric medicine - prehistoric mathematics - prehistoric astronomy - pure sciences -.
diffusion and convergence.
Egypt.
The invention of writing - the invention of papyrus - astronomy - architecture and engineering - mathematics – technology - metallurgy and mining - egyptian «science» - art and literature – the dawn of conscience.
Mesopotamia.
Geographic and historical background – invention of writing : archives and schools. The birth of philology - babylonian science - mathematics - astronomy - technology - geography – natural history - the code of Hammurabi - medicine - humanities - dark interlude.
The Aegean area.
The Aegean culture - the early greek and phoenician colonies..
Invention of the alphabet + the continuity of oriental influences mathematical traditions: egyptian arithmetic, minoan arithmetic, egyptian geometry , babylonian mathematics, astronomic traditions - biologic and medical traditions - technical traditions - mythology - the darkest hour before the dawn.
The dawn of greek culture..
Homer and Hesiod.
The greek miracle. The Iliad - minstrels and rhapsodists - Homer? More about the Iliad - the Odyssey..
Homer II - early Homeric traditions - what did Homer teach?
Geography – medicine, other arts and crafts.
Homer, the first educator of the western world.
Fenelon – legends.
Wolf and Schliemann.
Hesiod - works and days.
Descent of the gods.
Hesiod - Hesiodic style and tradition - bibliographic notes: Homer.
«Hesiod. Assyrian intermezzo».
Ionian science in the sixth century.
The asiatic cradle of greek science.
Asia, the home of prophets.
Miletos - the seven wise men - Thales of Miletos - Anaximandros of Miletos -.
Anaximenes of Miletos - Cleostratos of Tenedos - Xenophanes of Colophon.
Egyptian interlude..
Necho, king of Egypt (609-593) - Hecataios of Miletos, the father of geography + greek technicians of the sixth century - Cadmos of Miletos -.
the religious background and the superstitious underground - bibliography.
Pythagoras.
Who was Pythagoras? The pythagorean brotherhood and the early pythagorean doctrines - arithmetic - geometry + astronomy + music and arithmetic - medicine..
Alcmaion and Democedes - numbers and wisdom -: the pursuit of knowledge is the greatest purification -.
The fifth century.
Greece against Persia. The glory of Athens.
The persian wars : fifty years of relative peace - lyric poetry - the arts - tragedy - comedy – the fifth century itself a tragedy - the danger of comparing the past with the present.
Philosophy and science to the death of Socrates.
Heracleitos of Ephesos - Anaxagoras of Clazomenae + the eleatic school..
Parmenides and Zenon of Elea. Melissos of Samos - Empedocles of Agrigentum - The atomists. Leucippos and Democritos - the sophists. Protagoras of Abdera, Gorgias of Leontini, and Antiphon of Rhamnos.
Protagoras of Abdera . Gorgias of Leontini . Antiphon of Rhamnos.
Socrates of Athens.
The book of job - mathematics, astronomy, and technology in the fifth century.
Mathematics.
Zenon of Elea - Democritos of Abdera – Hippocrates of Chios - Oinopides of Chios - Hippias of Elis - Theodoros of Cyrene - Antiphon the sophist – Bryson of Heraclea.
Astronomy.
Parmenides of Elea - Philolaos of Croton – Hicetas of Syracuse - Ecphantos of Syracuse - the astronomic views of Leucippos and Democritos - Oinopides of chios - Meton and Euctemon.
Technology and engineering.
Artachaies the Persian - Agatharchos of Samos.
Hippodamos of Miletos: the silver mines of laurion.
Geographers and historians of the fifth century.
Geography - Scylax of Caryanda: Sataspes the Achaimenian - Hannon of Carthage : Himilcon of Carthage.
The historians: Herodotos, Thucydides, and Ctesias.
Herodotos of Halicarnassos - Thucydides of Athens: the Plague of Athens (430-429).
Herodotos and Thucydides - Ctesias of cnidos.
Greek medicine of the fifth century, chiefly hippocratic.
From Homer to Hippocrates: the school of Cnidos - the school of Cos : Hippocrates of Cos.
Hippocratic medicine.
Anatomy and physiology.
Prognosis versus diagnosis.
What diseases did the hippocratic physicians know?
Hygiene and therapeutics.
Medical climatology.
Scientific aspects of hippocratism.
Psychologic healing . the Hippocratic achievements.
The Asclepiadai.
The Hippocratic corpus.
Complete or partial genuineness of the Hippocratic writings - early commentaries: printed editions.
Main medical writings.
The sacred disease, de morbo sacro, perihierés nosu.
Prognostic, Prognostica sive praenotiones, Prognésticon.
Regimen in acute diseases, de diaeta (or de ratione victus in acutis), peri diaités oxedn nosematén.
Prorrhetic II, Praedicta II, prorrheticon b libri I et III, epidémion biblia a’, g’; the surgical books.
Epidemics I and III, Epidemicorum.
Epidemics II, IV-VII, Epidemicorum libri Il, IV, V, VI, VII, Epidémion biblia b’, d’-z'.
Wounds in the head, de capitis vulnerabis, peri ton en cephalé trématon.
In the surgery, de officina medici, Catiétreion.
Fractures, joints, instruments of reduction; De fractis, De articulis reponendis, vectiarius; Periagmon, Periarthrén, Mochlicon medical philosophy and essays.
Ancient medicine, De prisca medicina, Periarchaiegs.
The art, de arte, peritechnés; iétricés.
Nature of man, De natura hominis, periphysios anthrépu, and regimen in health, De salubri victus ratione, Peridiaités hygieinés.
Humors, de humoribus, Perichymén.
Airs waters places, De aere locis aquis, Periaeron hydatén.
Nutriment, de alimento, peritrophés.
The use of liquids, de liquidorum usu, perihygrén chrésios; (book IV is often called Dreams, de insomniis, or de somnius), Peridiaités, perienypnion.
Regimen I-IV, de victu.
On winds or breaths, de flatibus, periphysén aphoristic writings.
Prorrhetic I, De praedictionibus, prorrhéticon a’.
Aphorisms, aphorismi sive sententiae, aphorismoi.
Coan prenotions, praenotiones coacae, céanai prognéseis.
Dentition, de dentitione, periodontophyiés deontology.
The oath, iusiurandum, horcos.
Law, lex, nomos.
The physician, de medico, periiétru.
Decorum, de decenti habitu, peri euschémosynés.
Precepts, praecepta, parangeliai.
Apochryphal letters.
The medieval tradition of Hippocrates.
Second half of the twelfth century, first half of the thirteenth century, second half of the thirteenth century, first half of the fourteenth century, second half of the fourteenth century.
Coan archaeology.
The fourth century.
Plato and the Academy.
Political background Scopas and Praxiteles.
Plato's life : the Academy (887 b.c. to a.d. 529).
Later history of the Academy (348 b.c. to a.d. 529) - oriental influences - the theory of ideas - humanity - the Timaios - Platonic love - conclusion - a note on the ancient and medieval tradition of the Timaios.
Plato’s writings bibliographic summary - Plato's works and their chronologic order : politics. the great Betrayal, Plato's political problem - leadership – politics and mathematics - neither freedom nor truth in and mathematics - neither freedom nor truth in.
Mathematics and astronomy in Plato’s time.
Mathematics.
Theaitetos - Leodamos, Neocleides, and Leon.
Archytas of Tarentum - Eudoxus of Cnidos.
Astronomy.
Zkidinnu - the precursors of scientific astronomy: Philolaos, Hicetas, and Ecphantos the founder of scientific astronomy, Eudoxos of Cnidos, and his theory of homocentric spheres - The astronomic fancies of Plato and Philip of Opus. The introduction of sidereal religion into the western.
world - the Epinomis -Xenophon.
Xenophon’s writings - Plato and Xenophon - Xenophon as educator - functional architecture -Xenophon’s views on divination - Xenophon’s.
humor - Xenophon’s influence - Aristotle and Alexander. The Lyceum.
The growth of Macedonian power.
The life of Aristotle - The lost Aristotle. His early, platonic writings - The living Aristotle. His permanent writings : editions, translations, indexes.
Alexander the great (356-323) and the Macedonian empire..
The Lyceum. Its foundation and early history - early commentators – some aspects of Aristotle’s philosophy - The Organon - mathematics, astronomy, and physics in Aristotle’s time.
Mathematics.
Aristotle the mathematician - Speusippos of Athens : Xenocrates of Chalcedon - Menaichmos - Deinostratos - Theudios of Magnesia - Eudemos of.
Rhodes - Aristaios the Elder.
Mathematics in the second half of the fourth century.
Astronomy.
Heracleides of Pontos - Callipos of Cyzicos - Aristotle the Astronomer - Autolycos of Pitane - Astronomy in Aristotle’s time -.
Physics.
Physics in the early lyceum + greek music. Aristoxenos of Tarentum - the natural sciences and medicine in Aristotle’s time.
Geography.
Aristotle the geographer - Pytheas of Massilia -Nearchos the Cretan - Dicaiarchos of Messina.
Zoology and biology.
Aristotle, The zoologist, the biologist: comparative anatomy and physiology, habits of animals, embryology.
Botany.
The rhizotomists - Aristotle the botanist - Theophrastos of Eresos - the father of botany.
Geology and mineralogy.
Early knowledge - Theophrastos the mineraloae medicine.
Aristotle the physician : the dogmatic school.
Diocles of Carystos - Menon - aristotelian humanities and historiography in the second half of the fourth century e.g 565.
Ecology - ethics - politics - historiography.
Ephoros of Cyme, Theopompos of Chios + historians of science rhetoric , poetics.
Conclusion.
Other theories of life and of knowledge..
The garden and the porch.
The cynics.
The skeptics.
Euhemerism.
The garden of Epicuros.
Epicuros of Samos : Epicurean physics and philosophy - Epicuros struggle against clericalism and superstition - The school - Epicuros character.
His death - the stoa.
Zenon of Cition - stoic science and philosophy - Brief history of the school.
Epilogue.
The end of a cycle.
General bibliography.
Index.