Zu den magischen Quadraten.

Bergsträßer, G.

doi:10.1515/islm.1923.13.3-4.227

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Instead, magic squares appear to have conserved an intimate connection to popular superstition and illicit sorcery 164 . 160 A good and fairly recent overview of magic squares in Islam is [Cammann 1969]; but see also [Ahrens 1916]; [Bergsträsser 1923]; [Hermelink 1958]; [Sesiano 1980[Sesiano , 1981; and [Sarton 1927[Sarton , 1931, index references to «magic squares». 161 The most widespread assumption to judge from the Fihrist [trans.…”

Section: A Warningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Formation of “Islamic Mathematics” Sources and Conditions

Høyrup

1987

Science in Context

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ArgumentThe development of autonomous theoretical science is often considered a “Greek miracle.” It is argued in the present paper that another “miracle,” necessary for the creation of modern science, took place for the first time in the Islamic Middle Ages, viz. the integration of (still autonomous) theory and (equally autonomous) practice.The discussion focuses on the mathematical disciplines. It starts by investigating the plurality of traditions which were integrated into Islamic mathematics during its formation, emphasizing practitioners' “sub-scientific” traditions, and shows how these were synthesized in a way virtually unknown in earlier cultures. A discussion of the sociocultural roots of this specific synthesis concludes that a major role was played in the earlier period by the combination of fundamentalist convictions characteristic of Islam – that the most humble daily activity is directly responsible to the highest ontological level, while conversely this highest level is concerned with the humblest ranks of daily existence – with the absence of an institutionalized “Church” able to monopolize the interpretation of the mutual bond of the divine and the everyday levels.As the institutions of learning crystallized around the turn of the millennium, the integrative attitude to theory and practice was fixated institutionally; the latter process is discussed, first with the example of the madrasah institution as the carrier of an arithmetical textbook tradition, and second with that of the bond between astronomy and theoretical geometry.

show abstract

Section: A Warningmentioning

confidence: 99%