A review of “Science in Antiquity” (audiobook)

People have been curious about the natural world for as long as human beings have existed. The scientific impulse began very early in our history, and it continues today in full force. But its progress began to accelerate when the Sumerians (or perhaps the Egyptians) invented writing for the first time. Some consider this the beginning of “ancient history” (the meaning of “antiquity”). This is because everything before that is considered “prehistory,” rather than “history.” The invention of writing also meant that the discoveries of one generation could now be passed down to the next, and that people could thus learn from their ancestors. This saved them from having to rediscover scientific truths for themselves, and thus allowed the progress of science to accelerate a little more rapidly.

A review of “Medieval Science” (audiobook)

The medieval period is often seen as “backwards” today – and to some extent, this really is true. But this era also had some great science, as this audiobook attests. Much of it was in the Western world, but much of it was instead in the Islamic world. This is sometimes considered the “Islamic Golden Age,” with fantastic achievements in the arts and the sciences. For example, the Muslim invention of algebra is a product of this period. Obviously, algebra is more mathematics than science, but it is used extensively in science, and thus is relevant to their discussion at times. This audiobook is careful to avoid the kind of complex mathematics that would repel a general audience, but it judiciously mentions the role of math whenever it is relevant to their discussion.

A review of “David Hume” (audiobook)

“It is evident, that all the sciences have a relation, greater or less, to human nature: and that however wide any of them may seem to run from it, they still return back by one passage or another. Even Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, and Natural Religion, are in some measure dependent on the science of MAN; since the lie under the cognizance of men, and are judged of by their powers and faculties … consequently we ourselves are not only the beings, that reason, but also one of the objects, concerning which we reason.”

– Introduction to David Hume’s “A Treatise of Human Nature” (1739-1740), as written by the author himself

I had heard very little about David Hume, before listening to this audiobook. But after listening to this presentation, I was (and still am) convinced that he is one of the greatest philosophers of all time. His influence was massive, and he wrote on many topics – something that was more common then. For example, he wrote on history, politics, and economics as well as philosophy. But he is most famous for his original contributions to the philosophy of science, and the debate over what is the most reliable foundation of human knowledge. It was in this regard that Immanuel Kant once paid him a heartfelt compliment. Kant said that “the suggestion of David Hume was the very thing, which many years ago first awakened me from my dogmatic slumber.” (See the full quote and its citation here.)