March 28, 2025
Western Science

In ancient times, both in Europe and elsewhere, natural science (which was not yet distinct from other forms of knowledge) was merely a rationalization of common experience.

Heavenly bodies moved across the sky because they were embedded in spheres, while earth and water moved downward, and air and fire moved upward because that was their inherent nature.

Only with Galileo (conventionally speaking) did people begin to understand that the Earth was not the center of the universe. This led to discoveries such as universal gravitation, the weight of air, the functioning of living organisms, microorganisms, electromagnetic waves, and more.

Then came the development of machines powered by something other than human or animal force—trains, cars, airplanes, electric light, gramophones, cinema, and so on.

In a second phase, starting with Einstein, came what is known as modern physics: relativity, space curvature, the uncertainty principle, subatomic particles, and, in technology, nuclear energy, computers, the internet, and artificial intelligence.

All these advancements originated and developed in the West, but they are by no means an exclusive possession of Western civilization. Other nations may very well surpass the West in the future.