ORIGINS OF RATIONAL

SCIENCE

Ashish Lahiri
Kolkata School of History of Science
 The Meaning of Rationality

• General Meaning: The

practice or principle of basing
one’s opinions and actions on
reason and knowledge rather
than on religious belief or
emotional response.
 Social Patterns
•Food-gathering and
Hunting society
•Agricultural society
•Industrial society
Pre-Agricultural Society

• Hunting and gathering was

humanity's first and most
successful adaptation,
occupying at least 90 percent
of human history.
 PATTERN OF SCIENTIFIC AND
TECHNICAL ADVANCE
• TECHNIQUES • SCIENCES

 BIOLOGICAL
ENVIRONMENT
USEFUL
APPLICATIONS IN
THE INTEREST OF
 CONTROL OF RULING OR RISING
CLASSES AT
INANIMATE DIFFERENT TIMES
OBJECTS
 S C I E N C E : ORDER OF
DEVELOPMENT
•MATHEMATICS
•ASTRONOMY
•MECHANICS
•PHYSICS
•CHEMISTRY
•BIOLOGY
•SOCIOLOGY
 T E C H N I Q U E S : ORDER OF DEVELOPMENT

•HUNTING
•ANIMAL DOMESTICATION
•AGRICULTURE
•POTTERY
•COOKING
•CLOTH-MAKING
•METALLURGY
•VEHICLES AND NAVIGATION
•SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
•ARCHITECTURE
•MACHINERY
•ENGINES
 TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS OF PRE-
AGRICULTURAL HUMANS

• THE ORIGINS OF SOCIETY

• THE MATERIAL BASIS OF
PRIMITIVE LIFE
• THE SOCIAL BASIS OF PRIMITIVE
LIFE
• TRANSFORMATION OF THE
ENVIRONMENT
ESSENTIAL SOCIO-BIOLOGICAL
EQUIPMENT
• SEEING
• GRASPING
• HANDLING
• LEARNING
• COMBINED HAND-EYE CAPACITY
WITH AN ABILITY TO LEARN
 MAKING AND USE OF
IMPLEMENTS
• TAUGHT AND LEARNED
• STANDARDIZATION BY
TRADITION
• IMPLIES A CONTINUING
SOCIETY
MATERIAL BASIS OF PRIMITIVE
LIFE

IMPLEMENTS
AND TOOLS
 CHIPPING A STONE AXE
• FAIRLY ELABORATE PROCESS
• STABILITY OF TECHNICAL
TRADITION
• INSTITUTIONAL CULTURAL
ACTIVITY WHICH HAS TO BE
LEARNT AND EXECUTED
• UNIFORMITY
STANDARDIZED IMPLEMENTS
• IDEA IN
THE MIND
• CONSCIOUS
FORESIGHT EXPERI
• DESIGN MENTAL
• PLAN METHOD
 Marx, Bee, Spider
A spider conducts operations that resemble
those of a weaver, and a bee puts to shame
many an architect in the construction of her
cells. But what distinguishes the worst
architect from the best of bees is this, that
the architect raises his structure in
imagination before he erects it in reality.
― Karl Marx, Capital: Volume One
 TOOLS
• IMPLEMENT TO MAKE IMPLEMENTS
• CHIPPING
• GRINDING
• HAMMERING
• CASTING
• MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF
NATURAL OBJECTS
• PHYSICAL SCIENCE
 FIRE
• THE BASIS OF
CHEMICAL SCIENCE
• TOOL-USING AND FIRE-
USING ANIMAL
 SCIENTIFIC
HUMANITY
 ANIMAL LORE

• OBSERVATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
OF NATURE
• HABITS OF ANIMALS
• PROPERTIES OF PLANTS
 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
 Bhimbetka
• The Bhimbetka shelters exhibit the earliest
traces of human life in India. At least some
of the shelters were inhabited by Homo
erectus more than 300,000 years ago. Some
of the Stone Age rock paintings found
among the Bhimbetka rock shelters are
approximately 30,000 years old. The caves
also deliver early evidence of dance.
 Bhimbetka
• The Bhimbetka is located in the Raisen
District in Madhya Pradesh about 45 kilometres (28 mi)
southeast of Bhopal. It is a UNESCO world heritage site
that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters
distributed over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). At least some of
the shelters were inhabited by Homo erectus more than
100,000 years ago. The rock shelters and caves provide
evidence of a "rare glimpse" into human settlement and
cultural evolution from hunter-gatherers to agriculture,
and expressions of spirituality.
Bhimbetka
Bhimbetka
Bhimbetka
 Altamira
• The Cave of Altamira located near the
historic town Santillana del
Mar in Cantabria, Spain, is renowned for
its numerous cave paintings featuring
charcoal drawings and polychrome
paintings of contemporary local fauna and
human hands. The earliest paintings in the
cave were executed around 36,000 years ago
Altamira Bisons
Altamira Bison
 LANGUAGE
THE COMPLEX OF EYE AND HAND CO-
ORDINATION WHICH OCCUPIES WELL OVER
HALF THE HUMAN BRAIN IS ESSENTIALLY
ONLY AN ELABORATION OF THAT
INHERITED FROM AN APE-LIKE ANCESTOR.
THE CORRESPONDING COMPLEX OF EAR
AND TONGUE CO-ORDINATION ON THE
OTHER HAND, THOUGH NOT SO LARGE, IS
PRACTICALLY A NEW CREATION. IT CAN ONLY
HAVE ARISEN AND HAVE IMPLANTED ITSELF
IN HUMAN HEREDITY AFTER THE ORIGIN OF
SOCIETY.
 LOGIC
• LANGUAGE
• WORDS
• SYMBOLS
• IMAGINATION
• THOUGHT
• LOGIC
 MAGIC, RITUAL AND MYTH
• burial rites
• Magic was evolved to fill in the gaps
left by the limitations of technique
• Use of images, symbols, imitative dances
• Birth, initiation and
Myths theories
 Conflict between Magic and
Rationality: Indian Example
• Medicine in ancient India took the momentous
step from magico-religious therapeutics to
rational therapeutics based on direct observation
and rational processing of of the empirical data.
• It defied the spell of mysticism, ritualism and
religion.
• Of all the disciplines of ancient India, medicine
alone acquired the full status of science.
• In almost all Indian scriptures, the physicians
come under strong condemnation.
 RATIONAL SCIENCE
• IMPLEMENTS • TRANSFORMING
ENVIRONMENT
 MECHANICS
• HUNTING AND • HUNTING
FRUIT EQUIPMENT
GATHERING  (SPEAR,
BOOMERANG,
OBSERVATION SLING, BOLAS,
-AL AND BOW)
DESCRIPTIVE •  DYNAMICS
SCIENCES
 The Bolas
• Bolas (also known as boleadoras) are a
throwing weapon made of weights on the
ends of interconnected cords, designed to
capture animals by entangling their legs.
They are most famously used by the South
American gauchos, but have been found in
excavations of pre-Hispanic settlements,
especially in Patagonia, where indigenous
peoples used them to catch guanaco and
ñandu.
 The Bolas
• Gauchos use boleadoras to capture
running cattle or game. Depending on the
exact design, the thrower grasps the
boleadoras either by one of the weights or
by the nexus of the cords. He gives the
balls momentum by swinging them and
then releases the boleadoras. The weapon
is usually used to entangle the animal's
legs, but when thrown with enough force
might even inflict damage (i.e. breaking a
bone).
 The Bolas
• Bolas of three weights are usually
designed with two shorter cords with
heavier weights, and one longer cord
with a light weight. The heavier
weights fly at the front parallel to each
other, hit either side of the legs, and the
lighter weight goes around, wrapping
up the legs.
 The Boomerang
A boomerang is a simple wooden implement
used for various purposes. It is primarily
associated with Australian Aborigines, but
other forms are found amongst peoples of
North East Africa, Sardinia, Arizona and
southern California Native Americans and
in India. Besides the ancient boomerangs of
Egypt and Sardinia, another old one found
so far was discovered in a cave in Poland
and is believed to be about 20,000 years old.
 The Boomerang
• Boomerangs come in many shapes
and sizes depending on their
geographic/tribal origins and
intended function. The most
recognizable type is the returning
boomerang, a kind of throwing
stick that, when thrown correctly,
travels in a curved path and
returns to its point of origin.
 The Boomerang
Boomerangs can be variously used as
hunting weapons, percussive musical
instruments, battle clubs, fire-starters,
decoys for hunting waterfowl, and as
recreational play toys. The smallest
boomerang may be less than 10 cm
from tip-to-tip, and the largest over 2
meters in length.
 OLD STONE AGE
ACHIEVEMENTS
• IMPLEMENTS 
MECHANICS, PHYSICS
• FIRE  CHEMISTRY
• KNOWLEDGE OF ANIMALS
AND PLANTS  BIOLOGY
 Reasons for the end of Hunting Society

• Parasitic on the animals it hunts

• Unable to control them in any
positive way (i.e., it cannot feed
or breed animals)
• Changes of climate
AGRICULTURE
CONCEPT OF WORK
• INTERVAL BETWEEN
WORK AND ITS FRUIT
• CAUSE AND EFFECT
• BASIS OF RATIONAL
AND CONSCIOUS
SCIENCE
 AGRO-RELATED NEW
TECHNIQUES
• WEAVING GEOMETRY,
ARITHMETIC
• FORMS OF PATTERNS  NUMBERS
• RELATION BETWEEN FORM AND
NUMBER
• SPINNING  ROTATION
• POTTERY  SMELTING, EARLY
CHEMISTRY
 CIVILIZATION AND QUANTITATIVE SCIENCE
• BEGINNING OF • ARITHMETIC 
CONSCIOUS DIGIT, CALCULI
SCIENCE • BUILDING 
• RECKONING, GEOMETRY 
WRITING AND RIGHT ANGLE,
SCIENCE  STRAIGHT LINE 
MEASURE, PLAN TO SCALE
WEIGHT, • ASTRONOMY,
BALANCE, CALENDAR
WRITING
Indian Mathematics: The Sulva Sutras
• These sutras deal with rules for the
measurement and construction of the
various sacrificial altars. They involve :
• geometrical propositions and problems
relating to rectilinear figures, their
combinations and transformation, squaring
the circle, circling the square
• Algrbraic solutions of problems arising out
of such measurements and constructions.
 SULVA SUTRAS
The sulva-sutras, were written between
600 and 300 B.C. The ideas set forth in
them must have come from the earlier
Vedic society. These contained the
instructions for making special altars to
the gods. These altars, made out of mud-
brick, could be very complicated in shape
and size.
 Sulva Sutras
• A common example is wanting to build a square-
shaped altar (or section of one) which had the
same area as a circular altar (a math problem
which has baffled mathematicians for years). For
this to work, they needed an approximation of pi,
calculating procedures, and accurate
construction methods.
 Four Major Sulva Sutras
• Baudhayana Sulva Sutra (600-
500 BC) – the oldest
• Manava Sulva Sutra
• Apastamba (500 - 400 BC)
• Katyayna Sulva Sutra (400- 300)
Sulva means "cord", and the sulva-sutras are so
named because the Hindu priests used a simple
cord or string for all (or at least most) of their
constructions. This cord could work as a straight
edge (stretched tight), a compass (drawn around a
point), and more (such as getting proportional
lengths, by doubling the string over itself the
desired number of times). A pole was also often
used, for functions such as the making of circles
and also sometimes in marking corners of
rectangles, so that the cord could be stretched
around the poles to make various measurements.
 Brick Technology and Indian Sulva
Geometry
• Sulva-sutra ( 4th century B.C?)
• Use of strings by masons and architects to
ensure the accuracy of their measurements
and to solve other problems arising in
connection with their work
• Created by Vedic priests who
recommended specific shapes of altars
called chitis or agnis.
 Example of Sulva Geometric
Instruction
• Every one of these altars had to be constructed
out of five layers of bricks which reached together
to the height of the knee … Every layer in its turn
was to consist of two hundred bricks, so that the
whole agni (altar) contained a thousand; the first,
third and fifth layers were divided into two
hundred parts in exactly the same manner; a
different division was adopted for the second and
the fourth, so that one brick was never lying upon
another brick of the same size and form.
 Big Numbers: Greece and India
• The largest number that the Greeks
could think of was 10 to the power 4,
called a myriad!
• Whereas the Indians almost played
with big numbers, going up to 10 the
power 12 and beyond.
• The Taittiriya Samhita gives the names
of the numbers:
 List of Big Numbers
• Eka – 1
• Dasa - 101
• Shata - 102
• Sahasra - 103
• ayuta - 104
• niyuta - 105
• prayuta - 106
• arbuda - 107
• nyarbuda - 108
• samudra - 10 9
• madhya - 10 10
• anta - 10 11
• parārdha - 10 12
Big Numbers in Buddhist Literature

Tallakshana 10 53
 The Jaina Shirshaprahelika

• The Jaina literature mentions large

numbers up to 29 places and beyond
• They are credited with a timescale called
SHIRSHAPRAHELIKA (Shirsha = Apex,
Prahelika= Riddle), 8, 400, 000 and the
suggestion of building up large numbers in
ascending orders of this figure.
 CIVILIZATION AND SCIENCE
• MEDICINE  • WARFARE 
ANATOMY,
WALL
PHYSIOLOGY
• EARLY CITADEL
CHEMISTRY  MILITARY
ACQUAINTANCE MACHINES 
WITH ELEMENTS,
CATAPULTS,
REAGENTS,
ASSAYING,
MOVING
ORNAMENT TOWERS
COLOURS ENGINEERS
 Gudea of Lagash
• Approximately twenty- • On the lap of one of them
seven statues of Gudea, a
ruler of the state
of Lagash have been found
in southern Mesopotamia.
Gudea ruled between ca.
2144 - 2124 BC and the
statues demonstrate a very
sophisticated level of
craftsmanship for the time.
is the plan of his palace,
with the scale of
measurement attached.
Some statues have on
their lap a board with a
measuring scale and a
stylus, one statue doesn't
have a ground plan.
Plan to scale: Gudea of Lagash, 2250
B.C.
Catapults
Catapults
A catapult is any one of a number of non-
handheld mechanical devices used to
throw a projectile a great distance
without the aid of an explosive
substance—particularly various types of
ancient and medieval siege engines.
The name is the Latinized form of the
Ancient Greek katapeltes, from kata
(downwards, into, against) and pallo (to
poise or sway a missile before it is
thrown).
The catapult appears to have been
invented in 399 BC in the city of
Syracuse during the reign of the
tyrant Dionysius I. Originally,
"catapult" referred to a dart-
thrower, while "ballista" referred to
a stone-thrower, but the two terms
swapped meaning sometime in the
fourth century AD.
In Europe, the first catapults
appeared into Greek times around
400 BCE–300 BCE. According to
Greek inventor Archimedes the
first types derived from by the
earlier gastraphetes ("Belly-bow"),
consisting in composite bow
mounted transversely on a stock,
much like the crossbow.