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Fundamental and inherently subjective (and thus at least partially false) systems of though cannot be avoided, and in Western thought this basic system consists of these ultimately false binary oppositions. This makes an understanding of a science that could incorporate objective and subjective elements a logical contradiction to Western minds.
Sivin concedes that Chinese science is not exactly the same as Western science (though this is arguably not really true in the present era), but he doesn't really put this in terms of a concession. Advances in Chinese astronomy and mathematics were made at approximately the same time they were being made in Europe, he contends, but due to a long and unbroken working understanding of how the observable world and universe worked -- even if it was more flawed than Ptolemy had achieved -- these advances did not cause or warrant the type of Scientific Revolution experienced in the West.
Other scholars of Chinese scientific history agree with this basic assessment, noting that the "germs of modern science can also be found in ancient Chinese philosophy," and as this philosophy -- which was not divorceable from science -- was known, studied, and examined throughout China's development (unlike the disruptions in knowledge that occurred in Europe) it makes sense that even major advances were not as fundamentally revolutionary in the culture.
Understanding Chinese science means...
The question of whether or not China had a Scientific Revolution is thus rather pointless, and assumes facts and foundations that are not as objective as they pretend to be. The real question is whether or not China's science and scientists have been able to make advances and contributions to the modern scientific world, and the answer there is an unquestionable "yes." Framing the issue in an historical context is disingenuous or at the very least presumptive and inadequate, illustrating quite clearly the dangers of ethno- or cultural-centrism n the study and potentially even the pursuit of science.
Nathan Sivin. Why the Scientific Revolution Did Not Take Place in China -- Or Did It? Explorations in the History of Science and Technology in China, L. Guohao, Z. Mengwen & C. Tianqin, eds. Shanghai: Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House, 1982. (p. 95.)
Ibid. (p. 95).
Jacques Derrida (Alan Bass, trans.). Writing and Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Sivin. (p. 102).
Fang Lizhi & Zhou Youyuan. Concepts of Space and Time in Ancient China and in Modern Cosmology. In Chinese studies in the history and philosophy of science and technology, F. Dainian & R. Cohen, eds. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Acaemic Publishers, 1996.
Jacques Derrida (Alan Bass, trans.). Writing and Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Sivin. (p. 102).
Fang Lizhi & Zhou Youyuan. Concepts of Space and Time in Ancient China and in Modern Cosmology. In Chinese studies in the history and philosophy of science and technology, F. Dainian & R. Cohen, eds. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Acaemic Publishers, 1996.
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