Campus
- St. George
Fields of Study
- History of Early Modern Science
- Philosophy of Science
- History of Science
Biography
After my B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. degrees in physics I went on to complete a Ph.D. in philosophy of science. My interests have focused on the historical contributions of Asian civilisations to modern science and its implications for the philosophy of science. My book The Dialogue of Civilizations in the Birth of Modern Science explores the contributions of Arabic, Chinese and Indian astronomical traditions to the scientific revolution from Copernicus to Newton. This was followed by an investigation of the epistemological parallels noticed in Indian and Chinese philosophical traditions to the principle of complementarity in quantum physics in my book Complementarity Beyond Physics: Niels Bohr’s Parallels. Both these studies led me to better appreciate the relevance of Joseph Needham’s studies of circulations of knowledge across civilizations for history and philosophy of science. I am now conducting research on the significance of Needham’s work for contemporary global science studies. As Research Director of Joseph Needham Foundation for Science and Civilization I am also currently organising its conferences on multicivilizational exchanges that have historically enriched scientific knowledge, and how they can deepen our understanding of philosophy of science.
Selected Publications
Selected Books
Multicivilizational Exchanges in the Making of Modern Science: Needham’s Dialogical Vision (editors Arun Bala, Raymond WK Lau & Mei Jianjun). (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).
Complementarity Beyond Physics: Neils Bohr’s Parallels (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017)
The Bright Dark Ages: Comparative and Connective Perspectives (editors Arun Bala & Prasenjit Duara) (Leiden: Brill, 2016).
Asia, Europe and the Emergence of Modern Science: Knowledge Crossing Boundaries. (Edited volume) (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
The Dialogue of Civilizations in the Birth of Modern Science. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006).
Selected Articles and Book Chapters
“Explaining the Rise of Modern Science: A Dialogical Perspective,” a chapter in Multicivilizational Exchanges in the Making of Modern Science: Needham’s Dialogical Vision. Edited by Arun Bala, Raymond W.K. Lau & Jianjun Mei (Palgrave Macmillan 2024), pp. 355-380.
“Chinese organic materialism and modern science studies: Rethinking Joseph Needham’s legacy” in Cultures of Science, Volume 3(1) (2020), pp. 62–74.
“Connected Histories: The Asian Roots of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions,” a chapter in China, India and Alternative Asian Modernities. Edited by Sanjay Kumar, Satya P. Mohanty, Archana Kumar, Raj Kumar (Routledge, 2019), pp. 42-59.
“Closed Continuity or Cross-Fertilization: How Did the Scientific Revolution Happen?” A chapter in Interwoven World: Ideas and Encounters in History, Burjor Avari & George Gheverghese Joseph (Eds.), Illinois: Common Ground Publishing (2016): pp. 16-27.
“The Scientific Revolution and the Transmission Problem” in Confluence: Online Journal of World Philosophies, Issue 4 (2016), pp. 62-80.
"Why did Exchange of Knowledge Across Eurasia Generate a Scientific Revolution in the West?" Chapter in Sundar Sarukkai, Gordon McOuat, Jobin M. Kanjirakkat (eds.) Science and Narratives of Nature: East and West. Routledge, 2015, pp. 156-173.
“Asian Astronomical Traditions and the European Scientific Revolution,” Beijing Administrative Studies Journal in Science, Philosophy and History of Science. (vol. 6, 2014). [Translated into Chinese]
“Bringing Eastern Science to the West: Portuguese Voyages of Intellectual Discovery,” a chapter in The Circulation of Knowledge Between Britain, India and China: The Early-Modern World to the Twentieth Century, edited by Bernard Lightman, Gordon McOuat & Larry Stewart (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013), pp. 97-118.
“The Contingency of the Causal Nexus: Ghazali and Modern Science,” in James Robert Brown (ed.), Philosophy of Science: The Key Thinkers (New York: Continuum, 2012), pp. 152-167.
“The Dialogical Roots of the Copernican Revolution: Implications for the Continuity Thesis,” Journal of the Institute of History of Science, Polish Academy of Sciences 41 (2009) pp. 205-217.
“Did Medieval Islamic Theology Subvert Science?” in Burjor Avari & G.G. Joseph (eds.) Knowledge and Cultures: Crossing Boundaries in History (Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University Press, 2009), pp. 48-56.
“Eurocentric Roots of the Clash of Civilizations: A Perspective from the History of Science,” in Rajani K. Kanth (ed.) The Challenge of Eurocentrism: Global Perspectives, Policy, and Prospects (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), pp. 9-23.
“Establishing Transmissions: Some Methodological Issues,” in George Gheverghese Joseph (ed.), Kerala Mathematics: History and Its Possible Transmission to Europe (Delhi, India: B.R. Publishing Corporation, 2009), pp. 155-179.
“Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science: The Possibility of Dialogue,” Arun Bala & George Gheverghese Joseph, Race and Class 49 (2007), pp. 39-61.