Origins of scientific knowledge. Ancient oriental studies and their impact on the future of science

This article argues that contemporary research and educational literature attributes the birth of science to Ancient Greece or the Renaissance period in Europe during the 15th—17th centuries. Such a Eurocentric approach, in the author's opinion, is insufficiently convincing. The article provides specific examples to demonstrate that sophisticated scientific knowledge first appeared in the Ancient East, while the natural philosophers and thinkers of Ancient Greece and the so-called Hellenic world either appropriated this knowledge or used it as a basis for their discoveries, often without mentioning the original source. As evidence, the article discloses the history behind the origin of primary scientific knowledge in a number of countries in the Ancient East, its content and impact on the development of ancient eastern civilizations and science as a whole. Particular attention is paid to the practical application of theoretical knowledge in several applied fields of economic activity, such as construction, architecture, road building, hydraulic engineering, and others. In conclusion, the article reveals reasons for the limitation and utilitarianism of this knowledge, since it provided only ready-made solutions lacking critical evaluation and rational justification. Moreover, the system of evidence was rarely considered important. All these factors ultimately prevented the formation of a system of fundamental science.

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