Islam and the Transformation of Greek Science by George Saliba (Video)

As part of Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion, George Saliba from Columbia University gave a lecture on Islam and the Transformation of Greek Science in March. I had posted some thoughts on the lecture soon after the event, and now the full video of the lecture is available online (see below).

Abstract

This illustrated talk examines the often repeated characterization of the role of Islamic science as preserving the Greek scientific legacy. It will demonstrate with concrete examples the extent to which Greek science had to be transformed in order to respond to ritual and cultural requirements of Islam, thus critiquing that science and eventually replacing it with a science that was more scientifically consistent. It was this transformed Islamic science that inspired later on the Renaissance scientists.

George Saliba is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Science at Columbia University. He is the author of Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance and A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories during the Golden Age of Islam.