On the Comparative Scientific and Technological Views between China and the West
The so-called concept of comparative science and technology is to compare the basic viewpoints, thinking and methods of two kinds of science and technology, and it is the methodology of comparative science and technology. In daily life, we often choose or compare some things, some of which are straightforward, such as "A is better", which is obviously said by the subject after comparing A with what has been done; Some are casual. We can infer from words and deeds that the conclusions or choices made by the subjects are compared, but the subjects may not clearly express the intention of comparison. For example, "A is excellent (or very good)", it can be seen from this sentence that the subject said it after comparing A with other things. In addition, we often make some choices, such as "giving up life for righteousness", "giving up the near and seeking the far" and "giving up fish for bear's paw", which are all compared by the subject. "lay down your life" because "righteousness" is more important than "life"; "Keep close", because "far" is more appropriate than "near"; Give up the fish because there is a better bear's paw than the fish. Since comparison is a common phenomenon, what problems should we pay attention to and follow when comparing things?
(1) properties are the same. We often say "comparability" means that two things to be compared should belong to the same category in terms of attributes, and things of different categories are generally not comparable (of course, the classification standards should be the same). If it is inappropriate to compare the mass of object A with the volume of object B, then we can't tell the difference between them under two different properties. Therefore, it is meaningful to compare the differences between two things in a certain attribute and the same attribute of two things.
(2) The period (stage) is the same. When comparing the same attribute of two things, sometimes the historical span of this attribute is long, and there may be several different stages in the middle, and the attributes of things in different stages are inconsistent. In this case, it only makes sense to compare the same historical stage in the same attribute field. If we want to compare the characteristics of Chinese and western science, because the development of science has gone through a long historical stage, the scientific and technological conditions in different historical stages in the same region are different, and the scientific development in different regions in the same historical stage is also different, and because the historical stages of China and the West are not completely equal, the social form is not unified, and the natural science itself is neutral, we can not ask to carry out it in the same social form background, so we can only divide the whole history of science according to the historical era. According to the usual classification of the history of science, the whole history of science is generally divided into three stages: ancient, modern and modern. Only ancient and modern are relevant to this article. The ancient history of Europe is also divided into ancient and medieval times. We unified the history of Europe before the Middle Ages to ancient times (including the Middle Ages) and the history after the Middle Ages to modern times. Taking the historical era as an example, it may be more accurate, that is, it is unified into1ancient history before the 7th century,1modern history from the 7th century to19th century, and modern history after19th century.
(3) Adhere to the viewpoint of contact. To analyze the reasons for the backwardness of modern science in China, we must contact the scientific basis of ancient China and the West. Because science and technology are inherited, later science always develops at the previous level, so we can't cut off this connection in isolation, but can only discuss science and thought in a certain historical period unilaterally, which is also the dialectics of the history of science.
Second, re-recognize that China's scientific development lagged behind the West in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
It has become an indisputable fact that modern China lags behind the West in science and technology. Among them, many people think that the starting time of backwardness began in Ming and Qing Dynasties, from the Wanli period of Ming Dynasty in China (1573- 1620) to the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty (1736- 1795), with a transition period of about 200 years. Prior to this, China made brilliant achievements in ancient science and technology, especially in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, among which mathematics and three great inventions (compass, gunpowder and printing) were also the highest peaks of science and technology in the world at that time. The historical period corresponding to the Song and Yuan Dynasties was 1 1 century to14th century, but this period corresponded to the dark Middle Ages in Western Europe.
(1) A brief introduction to medieval Europe.
In 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire perished and Europe entered the feudal society. History usually refers to the Millennium from the demise of Western Rome to 1640 British bourgeois revolution as the Middle Ages, while the history of science is slightly different, generally referring to the period from the end of ancient Greek and Roman civilization to the European Renaissance, which is about the 5th century to15th century. As we all know, during this period, due to the oppression and persecution of Christian theology, European science became a servant of theology. Any scientific thought that reveals the mysteries of nature, as long as it does not conform to religious teachings, will be rejected as heresy and suppressed. Especially after Christianity was established as the state religion, the church monopolized cultural education and the whole spiritual life. The church's special position of covering the sky with one religion determines that it will inevitably be hostile to and suppress science whose responsibility is to explore nature freely. The most prominent evidence is that the Alexandria Library, the largest library in the world with 700,000 books, was burned down twice by Christians, and Plato's Academy, the Greek academic base founded by Plato and lasting for more than 900 years, was closed (AD 529), which marked the end of European classical scientific culture and the real beginning of the "dark middle ages" in the sense of European scientific history. The situation didn't change until the Crusaders in 1 1 century discovered the ancient Greek civilization. In this environment, it is difficult for scientific knowledge to take root, and scientific research and technological inventions are of course hindered and stagnant.
(2) Thinking about the leading technology in medieval China.
Due to the special social environment in medieval Europe, science and technology could not develop greatly during this period, and it is not surprising that there was retrogression. In contrast, from the Qin Dynasty's unification of China and the establishment of a centralized feudal society to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the history of China was basically stable for about 2,000 years, the mainstream ideology of society changed little, the living environment of science and technology was relatively relaxed, and the ruling class at least did not reach the point where it was incompatible with science and technology. If a dynasty monarch is wise and has proper policies, science and technology will prosper. For example, China's Han and Tang Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties are all examples. In this way, China has been ahead of the world for nearly a thousand years since the Han and Tang Dynasties, which has certain social reasons and is related to the political, economic, educational and cultural systems at that time. In other words, in the Middle Ages, the feudal society in China was still able to adapt to the development of science and technology, which led to the historical facts of the development of science and technology in the Tang and Song Dynasties. On the other hand, Europe is in a state of lethargy. It is only because of the stagnation of Europe that China's science and technology stand out. And if our ancients can clearly realize that this relative dominance is an advantage of favorable weather and geographical location, then they may calmly analyze whether there are any unfavorable factors restricting scientific development behind this lead without competitors. I will not be so blindly optimistic and pretend to be "a big country that gave up on me." This arrogant, supercilious and self-centered attitude made China ignore the research and development of science and technology from the Song Dynasty, which was full of the status quo. If someone had compared Chinese and western science and technology, analyzed their respective advantages and disadvantages, and realized the potential advantages of western science and technology and the shortcomings of China science and technology, then the modern history of science and technology in China might have been rewritten. Therefore, we should not only look for the reasons in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (the backwardness of science and technology in the Ming and Qing Dynasties has been clearly manifested, and Chinese people have gradually realized this gap), but should start with comparing the characteristics of ancient science and technology in China and the West to find out the reasons why modern science did not come into being in China. First, let's look at the characteristics of modern science.
Third, the outstanding features of modern science.
(1) branch research
Modern natural science was born in the second half of15th century, which is different from the whole way of ancient people looking at nature. Modern natural science divides nature into different fields and sides, such as animal kingdom, plant kingdom, mineral kingdom or mechanical movement, physical movement, chemical movement and life movement. Scientists no longer care about the origin of the world and the source of motion discussed in ancient natural philosophy, but focus on the specific problems in nature and explore the special laws of various forms of motion.
(2) Modern natural science is based on scientific experiments.
In modern times, every natural science should theoretically explain and explain the natural phenomena discussed according to the materials accumulated in observation experiments. The research work of natural science does not rely on philosophical speculation to speculate on nature like ancient scholars, nor does it just pursue some practical goals (such as making some products and improving some skills) like ancient craftsmen. What he pursues is the understanding of nature. In order to reveal the law behind the phenomenon, it is required that natural phenomena must be extracted from the actual production process and technical practice and studied under manual control. This is an experimental method pioneered by modern natural science. As an independent practical activity, scientific experiment is separated from production and has become the closest foundation for the development of modern natural science. In summing up the development of modern natural science, Engels pointed out: "Modern natural science is contrary to the intuition of ancient genius's natural philosophy, and to the very important but scattered discoveries of Arabs. Most of these discoveries have disappeared without results, and he just realized scientific, systematic and all-round development" [2]. This passage points out the great difference between modern natural science and ancient natural science.
A Comparison of the Scientific Features between Chinese and Western Ancient Times
1 Comparison between Ancient Greek Natural Philosophy and China Traditional Philosophy
(1) Characteristics of Ancient Greek Natural Philosophy
Ancient Greek natural philosophy includes philosophy and early natural science. At that time, philosophy and natural science were not "separated" and there was no separate discipline. For the convenience of research, later generations included the theory of the origin of the world and the understanding of the general law of motion in philosophy, forming a unique cognitive field of natural philosophy. Whether empedocles's "Four Roots Theory" about the composition of matter, Arak Sagona's "Seed Theory" or democritus's "Atomism Theory", the understanding of the origin of the world was later transferred to the understanding of the material structure. The later "atomism" thought is close to the basic idea of modern chemical atomism. Dalton, the founder of modern chemical atomism, admitted that his atomism benefited from Democritus' "atomism", and Newton, a great scientist, also believed that ancient atomism had a great influence on his scientific research. This is because the change from holism to unit individualism is not only a change in cognitive level, but also a change in cognitive methods. If holism adopts a comprehensive method, then "atomism" adopts an analytical method. But the research method commonly used in modern science is analysis or decomposition. For example, the research objects range from single substance to single molecule, from single molecule to single atom, from single atom to nucleus, from nucleus to elementary particles (protons, neutrons, electrons). Now people have realized the level of quark layer. The gradual differentiation of cognitive level is a major feature of modern science, which originated from the atomism of ancient Greece. Without atomism, there would be no various disciplines today.
(2) The characteristics of China's ancient philosophy:
China's ancient philosophy is a view of nature with strong speculative nature. For example, the "Yin-Yang Theory" advocates that the harmony between Yin and Yang is the internal cause of the movement and change of all things; The "Five Elements Theory" holds that everything is composed of five material elements: gold, wood, water, fire and earth, and the elements are "adjacent to each other and mutually compatible"; Liu Zongyuan's "Yuan Qi Theory" holds that everything is formed by the interaction of Yin and Yang, and that Qi "automatically stands still and naturally flows" is the reason for all movements and changes, while Zhang Zai holds that "everything is Qi" and puts forward the viewpoints of "one thing and two bodies" and "nothing without two". Wang Fuzhi's theory of "moving Fang Jing, Fang Jing rotating, static moving, moving without giving up static" expounds the dialectical relationship between dynamic and static. In a word, China's ancient view of nature is more about the speculative explanation of the origin and movement law of the world, which is purely subjective speculation. The understanding of things is considered from a holistic perspective and pays attention to dialectical unity. The discussion on this problem is only general, and there is no in-depth detail. Because of the difference of thinking mode, it was impossible to think of the "atomism" of ancient Greece at that time, and these dialectical thoughts had little connection with ancient natural science in China, and did not play much role in the development of natural science, except for traditional Chinese medicine.
2. Comparison in mathematics
The ancient Greeks loved geometry and paid attention to mathematical reasoning and proof. Many philosophers are also great mathematicians. They worship mathematics, especially Plato. He once wrote a sign at the gate of Plato College, which he founded, "Those who don't know mathematics are not allowed to enter". Later Euclid deduced all geometric propositions through a set of postulates. His Elements of Geometry pushed the ancient Greek mathematics to the theoretical peak, initiated the axiomatic method, and systematized the mathematical theory for the first time, which was unique at that time.
In ancient China, mathematics was basically a practical science, and its development changed with the actual needs of production, mostly in the field of algebra. In ancient Greece, mathematics not only paid attention to the development of theory and followed strict logical form, but also created some basic methods to study mathematical theory, such as reduction to absurdity, induction, deduction and axiomatization. Ancient mathematics in China is blank in this respect. Although China made great achievements in ancient mathematics, it was mainly algebraic operation and its algorithm was ingenious, but it did not form a theoretical system. The knowledge is scattered, the relevance of each part is poor, and there is no system. Moreover, it is still concentrated in the field of algebra, and geometry seems to be embarrassed to say, even if the accuracy of the calculation results is extremely high. For example, Zu Chongzhi calculated pi as 3. 14 15926 < π.
3 Comparison of logical methods
Aristotle, an ancient Greek scholar, discussed the reasoning method of formal logic in his Theory of Tools, among which Euclid's Theory of Geometry is an example of systematic application of logical reasoning, which laid a methodological foundation for later scientific research. Although various forms of logical reasoning, such as dilemma reasoning, analogy reasoning, hypothetical reasoning or their combination, were also used in Lu Chunqiu, the masterpiece of the miscellaneous family in the Warring States period in China, they were all confined to the field of social theory, and no logical reasoning was found in natural science. Moreover, even if logical reasoning is used in the rhetoric of literati, it is difficult to guarantee that logical reasoning will become a universal tool for scientific research. The historical fact is that in China's ancient mathematics and other natural sciences, there are no works that use logical reasoning to form an axiomatic system. The symbol of the birth of modern science is the combination of scientific experiment and mathematical proof, which seems to have little to do with the application of logical methods in social theory. To raise logical reasoning to the theoretical level and make a systematic summary can only be seen in ancient Greek science, but China ancient science lacked this special thing.
From this point of view, although there are obvious similarities between eastern and western natural philosophy, especially in the view of the origin of the world, it is hard to say that there is any essential difference between China's "Five Elements Theory" and Aristotle's "Four Causes Theory". However, the natural philosophy of ancient Greece follows the principle of formal logic and strives for the perfection of form. China's natural philosophy follows the principle of dialectical logic, pays attention to philosophical thinking and ignores the unity of propositions in form; Western science has a spirit of inquiring into the root of the matter and pursuing hard, and pays attention to the role of a single factor; However, China's science has always taken harmony and unity as the highest realm, paying attention to the integrity and consistency of the whole, ignoring the individual's strength. This difference in scientific thinking made ancient natural philosophy go in two completely different directions. One is to further theorize natural philosophy, form a strict symbolic logic system, and combine it with strict experiments to form natural science theory; The other is to further abstract and generalize, combine with moral concepts, and form an ethical philosophy far from natural science. Thus, the West embarked on the first road, while China embarked on the second road. China's philosophy eventually became a tool promoted by the feudal ruling class. However, natural science lacks strict theoretical guidance from the beginning, and only chooses the research direction based on experience and needs, so it is difficult to form a systematic theoretical knowledge system.
Physics existed in ancient Greece, and its research has begun to take shape.
Aristotle's Physics is the earliest monograph on physics in the world, which established the status of physics as a discipline. Archimedes' contribution is not only that he has made many research achievements, but also that he has summed up a set of scientific methods to study physics. He not only attaches importance to observation and experiment, but also attaches importance to strict logical reasoning; He not only analyzes physical phenomena, but also focuses on using mathematical methods to demonstrate, which embodies the perfect combination of experimental methods and mathematical methods. The outstanding feature of modern natural science is the combination of experimental methods and mathematical theories. Therefore, since Archimedes' time, there have been clues to modern natural science research.
In contrast, there was no physics based on rigorous scientific experiments and rigorous mathematical methods in ancient China, and there was no independent physics discipline. Although there are records of light, magnetism and force in Mo Jing, like observation records, they are limited to qualitative discussion without analyzing the reasons, forming a regular understanding. Compared with ancient Greek physics, this is really inferior. Moreover, Mohism is a flash in the pan in the history of China, and it has not formed a lasting force. The scientific tradition of Mohism was strangled by the policy of "ousting hundreds of schools and respecting Confucianism alone" and died halfway. This is the misfortune of physics and the misfortune of the Chinese nation. Mohism holds that "non-aggression", "universal love" and "Shang Xian" are despised by the ruling class. "Chapter 33 of Zhuangzi's World" says Mohism: "Don't waste future generations, don't waste everything, don't take a few photos, use rope ink to correct yourself, and prepare for the urgency of the world. The ancient road lies in Mo Zhai. As far as birds are concerned, their winds are bigger than their own. Life is not a song, and death is not enough. Mozi loves profit and does not dispute it. It's not the way. To teach others, I'm afraid I don't love others; Take this as your own way, not self-love-be diligent when you are born, thin when you die, and great when you are enlightened. It's annoying and sad, and it's hard to do it-the world is cold. Although Mozi can only serve, what is the matter in the world? " [3]. In the feudal schools of thought contend, Mohism was ignorant of the world, independent of politics, and despised by the ruling class. Although some achievements have been made, the result is sad. Later, the disciple refused to follow, so he gradually declined and there was no successor, so he died. Mohism is the birthplace of ancient science and technology in China, and its demise is not a great loss. The feudal ruling class and scholars took pleasure in politics, emphasizing the strategy of governing the country and safeguarding the people, while ignoring the irrelevant "Ji Fang" (technology). After studying the history of ancient science and technology in China, Needham thought: "Before the Ming Dynasty, it seemed that only important engineers could find senior positions in the Ministry of Industry. This may be because the real work is always done by illiterate and semi-illiterate craftsmen and craftsmen, and the biggest inventors have no intention of coming from civilian craftsmen and craftsmen. They are never officials, not even literati-sometimes they can't even find the names of such people "[4]. /kloc-in the 8th century, French missionaries believed that one of the reasons for the underdevelopment of science and technology in China was that China intellectuals were unwilling to engage in science and technology because science and technology could not promote them to a higher position. (Mozi is an example. In addition, the feudal society implemented the imperial examination stereotyped writing system after the Ming Dynasty, which attracted all literary talents in the world. Most of these literati only know poetry, music, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and know little about science and technology. And those who are skilled and good at "heavenly demons" can't play their role unless they are reused among the gentry. From the beginning to the end, the feudal ruling class was good at governing the world, but neglected the control of "heaven", which was the defect of China tradition.
From the comparison between ancient Greek civilization in Europe and ancient science in China, we can see that ancient Greek science is close to the characteristics of modern science in thought and method. Its contribution to human civilization is not to leave a great material civilization for future generations, but to provide people with a rational way of thinking and scientific research methods, which is the most precious spiritual and cultural wealth of mankind. Engels once said: "If a nation wants to stand at the peak of science and technology, it can't leave theoretical thinking for a moment" [5]. Ancient Greek science laid particular stress on theoretical thinking and thinking mode, which determined that it must have great development potential. However, China ancient science was congenitally deficient in this respect, which was the reason that restricted its development and missed out on modern science and technology. In this way, as early as before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, even in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, China's deep-rooted ancient science and technology had already limited its sustainable development momentum because of its own defects. This is the fundamental reason for the backwardness of science in modern China.
Re-understanding of the darkness in medieval Europe
When it comes to the Middle Ages, people always think it is dark, which is not comprehensive. Only by dividing the boundaries in time can we make it clear. The history of science generally divides the medieval period into two sections, with 500 years before 1 1 century as the early stage; The late period is 1 1 century to15th century. In the early Middle Ages, science was brutally suppressed by the church, which was almost blank. It was a real dark period. In the late Middle Ages, especially in Europe, the cultural heritage left by ancestors was found from Arabs, and science and technology recovered, which was the awakening period of the Middle Ages.
(1) The ancient Greek civilization recovered.
Although the church thought in the Middle Ages was extremely imprisoned, the scientific thought in ancient Greece was secretly preserved by people. The monastery system, founded by Father Benedict and developed by Catholic Pope Gregory I, preserved a little cultural knowledge for Europe in the dark ages, and the early monasteries later became universities. Roman aristocrat Boisius translated the outlines and annotations of Plato and Aristotle in Latin, which was the only Greek science known to early Europeans, and science survived with weak and tenacious strength [6]. Ever since the Crusaders discovered ancient Greek culture from Arabs, Europeans have been ashamed of their ancestors' civilization. They actively consult Arabs and learn advanced science and technology from East and West. They run translation libraries, open academies, go out, please come in. By the 3rd century, they had all mastered the most advanced technologies in the world at that time, such as power machinery technology, cast iron smelting technology, shipbuilding technology, gunpowder gun technology and so on. These technologies have effectively promoted the development of European productive forces, and at the same time accelerated the process of European ideological emancipation. They tried their best to break the shackles of the church and relive the glory of the past. Therefore, the Middle Ages was not the great destruction of science, but a scientific revolution was brewing.
13rd century is equivalent to the Yuan Dynasty in China. At this time, the dynasty was changing and the society was in turmoil. If we want to define the exact time when China's science and technology fell behind the West, I'm afraid it started from the13rd century, not the Ming and Qing Dynasties, because China people's thoughts fell far behind those of Europeans. Although there was prosperity in the Yuan Dynasty, it was the afterglow of the all-round development of the Song Dynasty and the result of the development of "inertia", just like a car driving very fast, it was impossible to stop at once. /kloc-Europe in the 0/3rd century, like a sports car ready to go, has already entered the competition venue, just waiting for the street sweeper to clear the roadblocks and show his elegance.
(2) The establishment of secular universities has prepared strength for the scientific take-off and scientific revolution in Europe.
1 1 At the end of the century, Italy established the first regular university in European history. Since then, many universities have appeared in Europe, such as Oxford University (1 168), Cambridge University (1209) and Paris University (1200). By the end of 14 century, there were 65 universities in Europe [7]. These universities became specialized academic institutions to study and exchange science and technology at that time, which prepared conditions for the rapid development of European science and technology and the birth of modern European science and technology. Judging from the courses offered by universities, they include both humanities and natural sciences. Grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, music, law and medicine are all available. There are as many students as 1000, and the educational system is 5-6 years. These universities have also provided new forces for the scientific and technological revolution in Europe. Two thirds of Renaissance leaders were trained by these universities, such as roger bacon, Leonardo da Vinci, Copernicus, Boccaccio, Cervantes and Bruno. At the same time, China's higher education still copied the previous Neo-Confucianism, and the four books and five classics remained unchanged throughout the ages. Natural science always succumbed to people's practical intentions, which not only started late, but also became fashionable and outdated, and was completely in the hands of the ruling class. At that time, there was no idea of running a new university, which was the gap.
(3) The pioneer of modern scientific experiment thought appeared in the Middle Ages in Europe.
In the late Middle Ages, after Archimedes in ancient Greece, roger bacon, a pioneer of scientific thought, appeared. The greatest thing about Luo Peigen is that when scholasticism prevailed, he boldly and wisely advocated the study of natural science, especially the study of nature by experiment. He said, "Smart people know the reasons and material reasons through experiments. Without experiments, they can't understand anything satisfactorily." [8] Luo Peigen attaches great importance to mathematics while attaching importance to experiments. He believes that the materials of experience must be sorted out and demonstrated by mathematics, and any science cannot be separated from mathematics. We know that experimental methods and mathematical methods and their combination are the pillars of modern natural science. This research method started in Archimedes, and Luo Peigen raised it to the height of principle. If ancient Greek science is only one step away from modern science, it has reached the edge of science in the late Middle Ages. It can be seen that the combination of the theoretical advantages of ancient Greek science and the preconceived ideas of medieval science created a hotbed for the birth of modern science. Just as Europe chose science as a magic weapon for the revival of civilization, it is natural for science to choose Europe.
Six concluding remarks
The reason for China's backwardness in modern science is a mystery and a controversial topic, and there can be no single ultimate reason. If we look for the reasons from science itself, it may be the most helpful to solve the problem. If the reasons for the backwardness of science in modern China are divided into external and internal causes, then the difference in characteristics between ancient science in China and western science is the internal cause; If the reasons for the backwardness of science in modern China are divided into the main reasons and the secondary reasons, then the difference between Chinese and western scientific characteristics is the main reason. The defects of science itself and the neglect of feudal ruling order are the fundamental reasons for the backwardness of modern science in China, while the defects of science mainly focus on the differences of thinking modes, and the lack of logical theoretical thinking is the restrictive factor of ancient science in China. This paper only discusses this difficult problem from the differences between Chinese and western scientific characteristics, aiming at highlighting the great significance of scientific thought and spirit to the scientific development of a nation and region, hoping that relevant departments can learn from it.