Science and religious/philosophical thinking (Abrahamic VS Dharmic and Taoic?)

[Fire God]

I read somewhere in this sub-forum a lonnnnggg time ago that India and East Asia wouldn't have advanced that far concerning various fields of science because their way of thinking and religion doesn't concern absolute truth like the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc.).

Would this be true, or am I too biased against Western/Abrahamic way of thinking?

 

[Keenir]

I read somewhere in this sub-forum a lonnnnggg time ago that India and East Asia wouldn't have advanced that far concerning various fields of science because their way of thinking and religion doesn't concern absolute truth like the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc.).

that depends on how you define 'absolute truth'.

Would this be true, or am I too biased against Western/Abrahamic way of thinking?

'against'??

 

[Halcyon Dayz]

India was (and is) pretty strong in the fields of mathematics and astronomy.

The thing you need to make serious advances in science is the scientific method.
In OTL that was invented (mostly by Galileo) during the Renaissance.
But I don't see why it couldn't have happened elsewhere.

 

[Flocculencio]

I read somewhere in this sub-forum a lonnnnggg time ago that India and East Asia wouldn't have advanced that far concerning various fields of science because their way of thinking and religion doesn't concern absolute truth like the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc.).

Would this be true, or am I too biased against Western/Abrahamic way of thinking?

I don't think that really has anything to do with it- South Indians made huge advances in pure Mathematics, developing the foundations of calculus long before Newton. You don't get many fields more concerned with absolutes than pure Maths.

 

[Ridwan Asher]

In OTL that was invented (mostly by Galileo) during the Renaissance.
But I don't see why it couldn't have happened elsewhere.

Scientific Method DID invented somewhere else IOTL, by Ibn al-Haytham in between late 10th century and early 11th century (hence it was invented before Galileo was even born).

 

[Emperor Qianlong]

Scientific Method DID invented somewhere else IOTL, by Ibn al-Haytham in between late 10th century and early 11th century (hence it was invented before Galileo was even born).

I agree, also the process of developing the scientific theory was a long process. I wouldn't credit a single person with it, although Ibn al-Haytham was the first stepping stone in the development.

 

[Expat]

Scientific Method DID invented somewhere else IOTL, by Ibn al-Haytham in between late 10th century and early 11th century (hence it was invented before Galileo was even born).

But that's still Abrahamic, isn't it?

 

[fortyseven]

It's rationalism that is paramount

I don't think that really has anything to do with it- South Indians made huge advances in pure Mathematics, developing the foundations of calculus long before Newton. You don't get many fields more concerned with absolutes than pure Maths.

250 years before Newton and Leibniz according to an article in January 2008 issue of Discover.