Elshakry: When Science Became Western Flashcards
(20 cards)
What is Elshakry’s main argument in “When Science Became Western?”
That the idea of “Western science” was historically constructed through global encounters, translations + institutional contexts. It did not originate solely in Europe.
How does Elshakry challenge the traditional narrative of science’s development?
Critiques the Eurocentric, linear narrative. Emphasises the syncretic, global + contingent formation of science.
What is “conceptual syncretism” in the context of science translation?
The merging of new scientific concepts with local belief systems + existing intellectual traditions
How did missionaries contribute to the globalisation of science?
Translated + taught science in vernacular languages - popularised a hybrid form of empirical knowledge blended with religious aims
What role did Egypt play in the 19th century development of scientific thought?
Egypt was a site of military + educational reform. Science introduced alongside classical Islamic knowledge through state institutions.
How was science received + reframed in 19th Century China?
Western science initially seen as “lost learning” with Chinese roots + integrated into Confucian frameworks before distinctions were drawn more sharply
What does Elshakry write about the translation of the term “science” in Arabic?
Missionaries redefined the Arabic term “ilm” to separate empirical knowledge (“science”) from belief - distinction not traditionally present
What was the term gezhixue used for in Chinese translations?
Both traditional Chinese + Western science - an early blending of conceptual categories.
What is the significance of the shift to the term kexue in China?
Marked a move toward defining “science” as modern, technical + Western, differentiating it from traditional knowledge
How did early professional historians of science shape the term “Western Science”?
Figures like George Sarton institutionalised a universal, rationalist and Western-centric vision of science as a humanistic project
What was Sarton’s “New Humanism”?
A vision of science as a unifying, secular force for global progress, elevating it above national identities + religion
How did Sarton distinguish between science + belief?
Argued that only scientific truth is valid across cultures, denounced religious truth as subjective + divisive
What is the “Needham Question”?
“Why did modern science not develop in China?” - a framing that reinforces the exceptionalism of Western development
How did print culture influence the dissemination of science in non-Western societies?
Science journals + educational texts helped domesticate scientific ideas by aligning them with familiar categories + values
What was tafsir ‘ilmi and how did it relate to science?
A genre of Islamic interpretation that read modern science into the Qur’an, reinforcing belief rather than challenging it
How did Yen Fu reinterpret Darwin + Huxley in China?
Presented their evolutionary ethics as consistent with traditional Confucian values, emphasising modern cultivation
What historiographical problem does Elshakry identify in early histories of science?
They ignored non-Western natural philosophy + only counted mathematical or technical knowledge as valid “science”
What role did colonial power play in shaping science education abroad?
Colonial + missionary institutions framed science as a tool of modernisation, reinforcing imperial hierarchies
What is Elshakry’s proposed alternative to linear histories of science?
A plural, comparative + entangled global history that acknowledges diverse epistemologies + localised adaptations
