Science and Civilisation in China Volume 7: The Social Background, Part 2, General Conclusions and Reflections

Needham Joseph. Science and Civilisation in China Vol. 7 The Social Background - Part 2 General Conclusions and Reflections 2004 [pdf 336sc 283c. 34.36mb]Joseph Needham, who died in 1995, was the greatest British historian of China of the last 100 years. His Science and Civilisation in China series caused a seismic shift in western perceptions of China, revealed as perhaps the world's most scientifically and technically productive country in pre-modern times. But why did the scientific and industrial revolutions not happen in China? Joseph Needham reflects on possible answers to this question in the concluding volume of this series and provides fascinating insights into his great intellectual quest. Cover......Page 1 Title page......Page 6 Contents......Page 9 ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 10 TABLES......Page 11 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 12 SERIES EDITOR'S PREFACE......Page 14 VOLUME EDITOR'S PREFACE......Page 16 VALE ATQUE AVE......Page 23 FOREWORD......Page 43 a) SCIENCE AND SOCIETY IN EAST AND WEST......Page 51 b) THE ROLES OF EUROPE AND CHINA IN THE EVOLUTION OF OECUMENICAL SCIENCE......Page 74 c) THE NATURE OF CHINESE SOCIETY: A TECHNICAL INTERPRETATION......Page 93 d) HISTORY AND HUMAN VALUES: A CHINESE PERSPECTIVE FOR WORLD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY......Page 117 e) LITERARY CHINESE AS A LANGUAGE FOR SCIENCE......Page 145 f) CONCLUSIONS......Page 249 APPENDIX JOSEPH NEEDHAM: A SOLILOQUY......Page 282 BIBLIOGRAPHIES......Page 291 A. CHINESE BOOKS BEFORE +1800......Page 292 B. CHINESE AND JAPANESE BOOKS AND JOURNAL ARTICLES SINCE +1 800......Page 296 C. BOOKS AND JOURNAL ARTICLES IN WESTERN LANGUAGES......Page 297 GENERAL INDEX......Page 314 THE first question which is likely to occur to anyone curious about the ways and means of finding out what China accomplished in the chemical arts and sciences is-what documents do we have?