Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 2, History of Scientific Thought [Hardcover]

Joseph Needham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521058007 | ISBN-13: 978-0521058001 | Publication Date: August 1, 1991

The second volume of Dr Joseph Needham's great work Science and Civilisation in China is devoted to the history of scientific thought. Beginning with ancient times, it describes the Confucian milieu in which arose the organic naturalism of the great Taoist school, the scientific philosophy of the Mohists and Logicians, and the quantitative materialism of the Legalists. Thus we are brought on to the fundamental ideas which dominated scientific thinking in the Chinese middle ages. The author opens his discussion by considering the remote and pictographic origins of words fundamental in scientific discourse, and then sets forth the influential doctrines of the Two Forces and the Five Elements. Subsequently he writes of the important sceptical tradition, the effects of Buddhist thought, and the Neo-Confucian climax of Chinese naturalism. Last comes a discussion of the conception of Laws of Nature in China and the West.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[An] astonishing and enduring study...[Needham brings] depth of emotion and technical finesse to his task."
Jonathan Spence, New York Review of Books

"Perhaps the greatest single act of historical synthesis and intercultural communication ever attempted by one man."
Laurence Picken, Cambridge University

Product Details

• Hardcover: 722 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521058007
• ISBN-13: 978-0521058001
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,325,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a dense and devoted vision of classical china, October 23, 2007

By 

James F. Hardy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 2, History of Scientific Thought (Hardcover)

It is very difficult to convey the great scope of this work. It has
been described as one of the l00 most significant works of non-fiction
of the 20th century. Only Arthur Waley, perhaps, had a greater role in
introducing the values and creative force of classical China to the west
than Joseph Needham. Needham, with a group of devoted scholars in the
Academica Sinica, labored over 40 years to produce this series, which
is without comparison in any european language. Not content with
superficial descriptions, at any stage, Needham uncovers the seminal
sources , at every juncture, to describe the birth and evolution
of this unique source of speculative, always empirical, yet spiritual
thought. One of it's greatest values is as a counter-point to the
growth of our own tradition, from its Greek sources through the
renaissance, and beyond. To give historical and cultural context,
Needham uses the seminal Greek sources, throughout, to show the
contrast as well as the originality of Chinese sources. The other
significant contribution, placing China within the context of world
cultures, is to explain the sources and development of China's own
empirical traditions and their growth into rigorous disciplines, and
their own concepts of time and cosmology.
Although this second volume does go into the development of
Taoism with considerable depth, it is not a great source for learning
the literary or artistic traditions of China. But as a guide to China's
emerging views of the natural world from astronomy to Chemistry,
Needham's work is without equal.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Science and Civilization in China, Vol. II, December 12, 2008

By 

D. Thatcher (Sausalito, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 2, History of Scientific Thought (Hardcover)

Needham is a superior thinker. His work on the Tao Te Ching is the best I have read in Englidh.