Islamic Science in the Medieval Era Essay -- History, Middle, Medieval

There are many terms used to describe the period after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance, three main terms being the Middle, Medieval, and Dark Ages. In general, these terms are used interchangeably, but are these fair substitutions? In recent years the term â€Å"Dark Ages† is becoming less and less acceptable as a phrase which describes the span of years it is meant to refer to. The use of the term â€Å"dark† implies a period of stagnation, which is becoming a questionable concept. In particular, the span of time referred to in this paper is 530-1452 BCE, with specific attention paid to the scientific discoveries and innovations rather than art or literature. These dates are significant because in 529 the Academy and Lyceum in Athens were shutdown by the Byzantine emperor, thus ending the Greek intellectual influence. The date of 1453 is chosen because many Greek texts arrived in Europe in 1453 after the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, the reby reviving the struggling European scientific fields (Bunch 93). This essay will show that the medieval period was not a so-called â€Å"dark age† because of scientific innovation in the Islamic world, and is only referred to as such because of the popular bias in the West of focusing on Europe. In order to make this clear, firstly, two objections to this proposition will be analyzed and clearly refuted. Following these counter arguments, the main weight of historical facts and events in the identification and explanation of Islamic scientific innovation will be presented, showing the inaccuracy of referring to the medieval period as dark. Finally, I will show that the misleading perception of the medieval era as stagnant is due to the modern bias for the superiority of Western... ...ime period in a positive scientific light. The distinction between modern and medieval science was described as medieval science being more theoretical in nature and modern being of the more applied variety. Through the further presentation of the plethora of Islamic scientists, covering fields as diverse as astronomy, medicine, chemistry, and physics it has been shown, without a doubt, that significant scientific contributions were made in this period. Finally, the source of this misconception was exposed through the common accidental perception of the past as a European narrative. History can easily be focused around Europe, and to do so produces a view of the medieval era being stagnant. However, when one looks at the greater global picture, it is clear that the Islamic world more than makes up for this lull in innovation, successfully brightening the â€Å"Dark Age†.

Lessons from Rs Mcnamara

Walking Along a Familiar Path In Errol Morris’ documentary Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, we follow the life and times of former United States Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara. The insightful piece follows his life from birth during World War I, his success at college, cunning business career at Ford Motor Company, to his involvement in World War II and his controversial political career during the Kennedy and Johnson presidential terms.Morris highlights the documentary around these eleven lessons that McNamara passes through during an interview for the film. In my opinion some of these ‘lessons’ are merely some opinions of McNamara and some seem to be spurred along by Morris, who is asking the questions in the background. I believe it is through some of these lessons that Morris uses McNamara’s success and failures to relate them to current issues such as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; and how we seem to be treading do wn a familiar path.LESSON #5: PROPORTIONALITY SHOULD BE A GUIDELINE IN WAR? â€Å"In order to win a war should you kill 100,000 people in one night, by firebombing or any other way . . . Proportionality should be a guideline in war. Killing 50% to 90% of the people of 67 Japanese cities and then bombing them with two nuclear bombs is not proportional, in the minds of some people, to the objectives we were trying to achieve. † Robert McNamara This comment by McNamara resonated through out the film. I knew that there was some bombing in Japan but not to this extent.Morris puts forth one of the most powerful uses of imagery to captivate the audience and bring these death tolls to a whole other level. McNamara resentfully cites a series of Japanese cities that were partially or largely destroyed and matches them to American cities of comparable size, and asks us to imagine those U. S. communities similarly ravaged. It's a strong point, graphically supported by Morris on screen by flashing names and statistics at accelerating speed. â€Å"In that single night, we burned to death 100,000 Japanese civilians in Tokyo: men, women, and children. McNamara. Through this outrages example, I believe Morris was alluding to the large deployment of troops launched to fight small forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Having twenty-five thousand troops fighting insurgent forces made up of small groups of guerrilla factions can be scene in some eyes as excessive and ill proportioned.LESSON #6: GET THE DATA and LESSON #7: BELIEF AND SEEING ARE BOTH OFTEN WRONG. â€Å"At one point, the commander of the ship said, ‘We're not certain of the attack. At another point they said, ‘Yes, we're absolutely positive. ‘ And then finally late in the day, Admiral Sharp said, ‘Yes, we're certain it happened. ‘ So I reported this to Johnson, and as a result there were bombing attacks on targets in North Vietnam. † McNamara The important fact from McNamara is that the escalation of the Vietnam War started based on a misinformed from a single crew thinking they had been torpedoed. This seemed to be a decent excuse to start bombing runs, mobilize troops and deploy them in to South East Asia.The parallels between these chain of events leading to the Vietnam War and the actions taken by the US government in launching campaigns against Afghanistan and Iraq are very similar. While the terrorist attacks on 9/11 were a violent catalyst to the conflict in Afghanistan, it was an isolated attack by a handful of terrorist. The US turned 9/11 into a raid on Afghanistan harboring factions of these terrorists, eventually overturning the government in power. Another similar lesson in which McNamara states we should â€Å"Get the data,† can be strongly related to the US government’s poor excuse to invade Iraq.The speculation that Iraq was in the process of making or in possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was largely fabricated o rdeal backed by speculation and no quantifiable evidence. Since 2003, the US has still not found WMDs and have quickly skirted this issue under the rug while they change their war song as an action of freedom against tyrannical Iraqi government. LESSON #8: BE PREPARED TO REEXAMINE YOUR REASONING. ?†Were those who issued the approval to use Agent Orange: criminals? Were they committing a crime against humanity?Let's look at the law. Now what kind of law do we have that says these chemicals are acceptable for use in war and these chemicals are not. We don't have clear definitions of that kind. I never in the world would have authorized an illegal action. I'm not really sure I authorized Agent Orange. I don't remember it but it certainly occurred, the use of it occurred while I was Secretary. † Another one of McNamara’s strong comments that relate to that there is a consequence to every action we take and that we must live with that consequence.His job was tough, and he had to make some critical decisions for the ware fare of millions in which he, â€Å"Never had hindsight in making decisions at the time. † This, I believe, was Morris’ big punch in the mouth to the powers of the George W. Bush administration and their actions surrounding the invasion of Iraq. Now, at the time of release of this documentary the Iraq war was still in the infant stages of development- Morris had no clue how the war would turn out but left us with a strong statement that someone would have to be accountable for starting an unjust war.I was once told in a high school history class that, â€Å"History is written by the victors. † McNamara sums this quote up with a brilliant look back into some of his actions during World War II â€Å"[General Curtis] LeMay said if we had lost the war, we would have been prosecuted as war criminals. And I think he's right . . .. What makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win? † Morris alludes through this lesson that someone will have to answer to these actions and wash the blood off their hands. Can we learn from history? Are we fated to repeat the mistakes that we've made in the past, again and again?Or can we learn from history and from the past? These are some serious questions I believe Morris forces us to ask ourselves. I believe that Morris was trying to bring up similarities of the past rather than actually relating the Vietnam War specifically to the Iraqi War, showing us that we are still treading upon our past mistakes. If we don’t learn from history and the events that pass we will be doomed to repeat history, over and over again. â€Å"Don’t make the same mistake twice†¦one mistake can destroy a nation. † Robert Strange McNamara

The Nature Of Man And The Purpose Of Government - 887 Words

Evelyn Koutsoudis September 21, 2014 Mr. Kramer AP Government The Nature of Man and The Purpose of Government Hobbes said, â€Å"†¦ the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short†¦the condition of man†¦is a condition of war of everyone against everyone.† In other words the nature of man is evil without any civil government. To save Britain merchants from an economic deficit, Parliament passed the Tea Act, granting a monopoly to the financially strapped East India Company to sell the tea that is imported from Britain. The company was allowed to conduct business with colonial merchants who were loyal to the crown, and thereby hurting the colonist by undercutting them, who could only sell tea imported from other nations. The purpose of this was to drive down the price of tea, so that the colonial merchants were forced to buy tea at the higher prices from another source. This made the colonist upset so when the next shipment of tea arrived in Boston Harbor, the colonist decided to throw a â€Å"Boston Tea Party†. This â€Å"Boston Tea Party† was an act of protest in which the colonist threw the British tea into the Boston Harbor. (34) This was the spark that ignited the colonists to decide to go to â€Å"war† with the English Government. As a result, the actions taken by both sides were fueled out of spite, and revenge. John Locke said, â€Å"†¦ the people had put into their hands for quite contrary ends, and it devolves to the people, who have a right to resume theirShow MoreRelatedModern Liberalism and Political Policies1337 Words   |  6 Pagesphilosophies and theories each differ from one another’s, but these three philosophers have all staked their claims as to what man would be like, prior to the formation of the state. This is the State of Nature. Their notions on the social contract reflect their position on the political spectrum. 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