Abdelhamid I. Sabra

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Abdelhamid Ibrahim "Bashi" Sabra (* 1924 in Tanta , Egypt ; † December 18, 2013 in Lexington , Massachusetts , United States ), often also AI Sabra, was an Egyptian historian of science who focused on the history of optics and affection and Advancement of ancient Greek science and philosophy in the medieval Islamic world. From 1972 to 1996 he was a professor in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University .

Life

Academic career

Sabra received an undergraduate degree from Alexandria University . He then studied philosophy of science with Karl Popper at the University of London , where he received his Ph.D. in 1955 with a thesis on optics in the 17th century. PhD . He then returned to Egypt and taught from 1955 to 1962, first as a lecturer , then as an Associated Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Alexandria University. From 1962 to 1972 he worked as a Senior Research Fellow , Special Lecturer and most recently as a professor (reader) for history of classical studies (History of the Classical Tradition) to the associated with the University of London Warburg Institute . From 1972 until his retirement in 1996, Sabra taught at Harvard.

Research and Sabra thesis

Sabra's research focused on the history of optics. In 1954 the first article appeared in "The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science" on Newton's corpuscular theory of light under the title A Note on a Suggested Modification of Newton's Corpuscular Theory of Light to Reconcile it with Foucault's Experiment of 1850. Already one of the classics of The history of science in the post-war period counts his work from 1967 on the theories of light from Descartes to Newton ( Theories of Light from Descartes to Newton ). Sabra also examined in particular the history of optics in his Arab homeland and in 1983 (in English 1989) published a work on the "Book of Seeing" ( Kitāb al-Manāzir ) by the mathematician , optician and astronomer Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al- Haitham ( The Optics of Ibn Al-Haytham: Kitāb al-Manāzir. Books I-II-III. ).

Under the influence of Ernst Gombrich , Frances A. Yates and Daniel Pickering Walker , Sabra expanded his interests in the history of science of cultures and turned primarily to the influence of ancient Greece on the Arab sciences. In his 1987 article The Appropriation and Subsequent Naturalization of Greek Science in Medieval Islam , he objected to Pierre Duhem's theories that Islamic cultures not only passively adopted and preserved ancient Greek science, but rather actively used and developed it. His theory of the acquisition of science in intercultural transmission became known in specialist circles as the "Sabra thesis".

honors and awards

In 1975 Abdelhamid I. Sabra was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 2005 he received the George Sarton Medal , the highly prestigious prize for the history of science from the History of Science Society (HSS) founded by George Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson .

Fonts

Abdelhamid I. Sabra wrote more than 50 specialist articles, translated numerous works and published thirteen books, including:

  • 1954. A Note on a Suggested Modification of Newton's Corpuscular Theory of Light to Reconcile it with Foucault's Experiment of 1850. In: The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. Volume 5, pp. 149-151.
  • 1967 (Oldbourne), 1981 (Cambridge University Press). Theories of Light from Descartes to Newton. 363 pages.
  • 1984. The Andalusian Revolt Against Ptolemaic Astronomy: Averroes and al-Bitrûjî. In: Everett Mendelsohn (Ed.): Transformation and Tradition in the Sciences: Essays in honor of I. Bernard Cohen. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 233-253.
  • 1987. The Appropriation and Subsequent Naturalization of Greek Science in Medieval Islam. In: History of Science. Volume 25, pp. 223-243.
  • 1989: The Optics of Ibn Al-Haytham. Books I – III (2 vols.) London 1989.
  • 1996. Situating Arabic Science: Locality versus Essence. In: Isis. Volume 87, pp. 654-670.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ obituary from World Bulletin News , site of the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, accessed December 13, 2014.
  2. ↑ See also the article "History of Optics" in the English language Wikipedia .
  3. ↑ a b c Harvard University, Sarton Medal Citation Professor AI Sabra ( Memento from May 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 112 kB) Acknowledgment for AI Sabra, presented by Steven Livesey at the banquet of the History of Science Society for the award of her Awards and Accolades, Minneapolis, Nov. 5, 2005
  4. ↑ Harvard University, Award of the Sarton Medal 2005, Acceptance speech by Abdelhamid I. Sabra ( Memento from May 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 34 kB) Acceptance speech by Abdelhamid I. Sabra for the award of the George Sarton Medal through the History of Science Society , Minneapolis, November 5, 2005
  5. ^ The free library Three meanings of Islamic science: toward operationalizing Islamization of science. For the “Sabra thesis” see note 33 and the accompanying text.
  6. ^ Sarton Medal - History of Science Society. In: hssonline.org. Retrieved February 12, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Harvard University ( Memento from May 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 303 kB) Detailed list of Sabra's publications (English)
personal data
SURNAME Sabra, Abdelhamid I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sabra, Abdelhamid Ibrahim (full name); Sabra, Bashi (nickname); Sabra, AI
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Egyptian science historian
DATE OF BIRTH 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Aunt
DATE OF DEATH 18th December 2013
Place of death Lexington, Massachusetts