The origin of the history of science in classical antiquity

345 Pages·2006·1.26 MB·English

by  Leonid Zhmud

Leonid Zhmud
The Origin of the History of Science in Classical Antiquity
Peripatoi
Philologisch-historische Studien
zum Aristotelismus
Herausgegeben von
Wolfgang Kullmann,
Robert W. Sharples, Jürgen Wiesner
Band 19
2006
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
Leonid Zhmud
kainà dè zhtoñnte~ ëpipónw~ eûr2sousi
Isoc.Antid., 83.
The Origin of the
Preface
History of Science
Several sections of this book (3.1–2, 4.2–3, 5.1-2, and 7.6) include revised
in Classical Antiquity
Translated from the Russian by
Alexander Chernoglazov
2006
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
∞ Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines
of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability
ISSN: 1862-1465
ISBN-13: 978-3-11-017966-8
ISBN-10: 3-11-017966-0
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© Copyright 2006 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
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Printing and binding: Hubert & Co., Göttingen
Cover design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin
To the memory of my wife Irina
(1965–2002)

kainà dè zhtoñnte~ ëpipónw~ eûr2sousi
Isoc.Antid., 83.
Preface
When writing a book on the Pythagorean school, I noticed that, although Aris-
totle’s student Eudemus of Rhodes was regularly used as a source for Greek
science, there was no scholarly treatment of him as the first historian of science.
Indeed, as my further research showed, the whole area of ancient Greek histori-
ography of science remained almost entirely unexplored. This prompted me to
work first on Eudemus, and then on his predecessors, colleagues, and fol-
lowers. The Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington (1995–1996); Maison des
Sciences de l’Homme, Paris (1998); Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
(1998–1999); Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, Bonn (2000, 2004); Well-
come Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, London (2000–2001); and Wis-
senschaftskolleg zu Berlin (2002–2003, 2005) have found my studies worthy of
support. Without them this book would hardly have been written. The Alex-
ander von Humboldt-Foundation and Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin gener-
ously sponsored the translation of this book into English. I express my deep
gratitude to all these institutions.
Alexander Gavrilov, Elena Ermolaeva, Dmitri Panchenko, and Alexander
Verlinsky have read the Russian version of the book, published in 2002 in St.
Petersburg; their valuable suggestions have improved the text in many places. I
am grateful to Gertrud Grünkorn for her offer to publish the English version of
my book with the Walter de Gruyter Press. In preparing the new edition I have
updated the bibliography and written an additional chapter, tracing the fate of
the historiography of science after Eudemus.
István Bodnár, Carl Huffman, Charles Kahn, Paul Keyser, Colin G. King,
and Henry Mendell have read and commented on separate chapters of the
manuscript; their criticism has made it possible to eliminate many inaccuracies
and to make essential improvements to the text. Lydia Goehr, John Hyman,
Maria Michela Sassi, David Sider, and Heinrich von Staden have all been ex-
tremely helpful. I would particularly like to thank Geoffrey Lloyd, who has
read a whole draft of the book and sent me his very helpful comments. The edi-
tors of thePeripatoi series, Wolfgang Kullmann, Robert Sharples, and Jürgen
Wiesner, have also read the whole manuscript and provided their expert com-
ments, which saved me from many mistakes. Those that still remain are my
own responsibility.
I want also to express my special gratitude to Mitch Cohen at the Wissen-
schaftskolleg zu Berlin for his meticulous reading of my book in manuscript
and for having greatly improved its English.
viii Preface
Several sections of this book (3.1–2, 4.2–3, 5.1-2, and 7.6) include revised
versions of my earlier papers:
1) Plato as “architect of science”, Phronesis 43 (1998) 211–244;
2) Eudemus’ history of mathematics,Eudemus of Rhodes, ed. by I. Bodnár,
W. W. Fortenbaugh, New Brunswick 2002, 263–306 (Rutgers University
Studies in Classical Humanities, Vol. 11);
3) Historiographical project of the Lyceum: The peripatetic history of
science, philosophy, and medicine, Antike Naturwissenschaft und ihre Rezep-
tion,Vol. 13 (2003) 113–130;
4) “Saving the phenomena” between Eudoxus and Eudemus,Homo Sapiens
und Homo Faber. Festschrift für J. Mittelstraß, ed. by G. Wolters, M. Carrier,
Berlin 2005, 17-24.
I am grateful to the respective publishers and editors for their kind per-
mission to use these papers.
St. Petersburg, January 2006 Leonid Zhmud
Contents
Introduction: Greek science and its historiography ....................... 1
1. The historiography of science in the 16th–18thcenturies ..... 1
2. The historiography of science in Antiquity ................... 10
3. Greek notions of science and progress ....................... 16
Chapter 1: In search of the first discoverers: Greek heurematography and
the origin of the history of science ............................ 23
1. Prõtoi eûretaí: gods, heroes, men ......................... 23
2. Heurematography and the ‘Greek miracle’ ................... 29
3. Inventors and imitators. Greece and the Orient ............... 34
Chapter 2: Science astécnh: theory and history .......................... 45
1. The invention oftécnh ....................................... 45
2. The theory of the origin of medicine ......................... 54
3. Archytas and Isocrates........................................ 60
4. Why is mathematics useful? .................................. 71
5. From ‘progress’ to ‘perfection’ ............................... 77
Chapter 3: Science in the Platonic Academy .............................. 82
1. Plato as architect of mathematical sciences? ................. 82
2. TheCatalogue of geometersabout mathematicians of Plato’s
time ........................................................... 89
3. Mathematics at the Academy ................................. 100
4. Plato on science and scientific directorship .................. 104
5. The theory and history of science in the Academy ........... 108
Chapter 4: The historiographical project of the Lyceum .................. 117
1. Greek science in the late fourth century BC .................. 117
2. Aristotelian theory of science and the Peripatetic historiogra-
phical project ................................................. 122
3. History in the Lyceum ........................................ 133
4. The aims of the historiographical project..................... 140
5. Eudemus’ history of science.................................. 147
6. Doxography: between systematics and history ............... 153
Chapter 5: The history of geometry ....................................... 166
1. Eudemus of Rhodes .......................................... 166
2. The History of Geometry: on a quest for new evidence ...... 169
3. The Catalogue of geometers: from Eudemus to Proclus ..... 179
4. Early Greek geometry according to Eudemus ................ 191
5. Teleological progressivism ................................... 210