Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 2, History of Scientific Thought

Joseph Needham

Cambridge University Press, Jan 3, 1956 - Science - 697 pages

The second volume of Dr Joseph Needham's great work Science and Civilisation in China is devoted to the history of scientific thought. Beginning with ancient times, it describes the Confucian milieu in which arose the organic naturalism of the great Taoist school, the scientific philosophy of the Mohists and Logicians, and the quantitative materialism of the Legalists. Thus we are brought on to the fundamental ideas which dominated scientific thinking in the Chinese middle ages. The author opens his discussion by considering the remote and pictographic origins of words fundamental in scientific discourse, and then sets forth the influential doctrines of the Two Forces and the Five Elements. Subsequently he writes of the important sceptical tradition, the effects of Buddhist thought, and the Neo-Confucian climax of Chinese naturalism. Last comes a discussion of the conception of Laws of Nature in China and the West.

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Review: Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 2, History of Scientific Thought

User Review  - Hock Tjoa - Goodreads

Many volumes in Needham's heroic series on Science and Civilization go into great detail about how things were done, from agriculture to ship-building. This volume, one of the earlier ones, is Needham ...

Contents

• THE TAO CHIA TAOISTS AND TAOISM: 33
• THE FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS OF CHINESE: 153
• j Taoism as a religion: 154
• h Conclusions: 161
• 6 Scientific thought in the Mohist Canon p: 171
• c The philosophy of Kungsun Lung p: 185
• e Logic formal or dialectical? p: 198
• THE FA CHIA LEGALISTS: 204
• SCIENCE page: 216
• c The school of Naturalists YinYang Chia Tsou Yen: 232
• d Enumeration orders and symbolic correlations p: 253
• e The theory of the two fundamental forces p: 273
• Correlative thinking and its significance Tung Chung: 279
• THE PSEUDOSCIENCES AND: 346
• BUDDHIST THOUGHT: 396
• CHIN AND THANG TAOISTS AND SUNG: 432
• SUNG AND MING IDEALISTS AND: 506
• e The new or experimental philosophy Huang Lii: 516
• d Stages in the MesopotamianEuropean differentiation: 533
• e The acceptance of the legislative metaphor in Renaissance: 539
• BIBLIOGRAPHIES page: 585
• Books and journal articles in Western Languages p: 616
• GENERAL INDEX: 655
• Table of Chinese Dynasties: 699

About the author

Joseph Needham FRS (1900-1995) was the founder of the Science and Civilisation in China project.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 2, History of Scientific Thought; Volume 2 of History of Scientific Thought; Volume 2 of Science and Civilisation in China, Joseph Needham; Volume 2 of Zhongguo zhi ke xue yu wen ming
• Author: Joseph Needham
• Contributor: Ling Wang
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1956
• ISBN: 0521058007, 9780521058001
• Length: 697 pages
• Subjects: Science / History; Technology & Engineering / History