History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 182 - Aftermath - Philosophy and Science in the Mongol Age
Jun 29, 2014
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Mongol Shift From Horde To Rulers
- The Mongols began as a destructive cavalry force but shifted to sedentary rule and taxation after initial conquests.
- Peter Adamson recounts their rapid expansion to the Caspian Sea and later conversion to Islam, which turned conquerors into patrons of skilled workers and scholars.
Mongol Patronage Sustained Science And Philosophy
- Mongol patronage allowed philosophy, astronomy, and medicine to continue and even flourish in newly conquered Islamic lands.
- Adamson highlights Atusi's Maragha circle, which valued astronomers and medical experts and attracted scholars like Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi.
Theological Occam Guides Astronomical Models
- Qutb al-Din preferred Ptolemy's eccentric-sphere solution to retrograde motion on grounds of simplicity and theology.
- He argued God would not needlessly complicate the cosmos, invoking Occam-like reasoning to favor eccentric spheres over epicycles.