Abu Arrayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni

1
Abu Arrayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni

• By Jess Regnier and Clara Lundgren

2
Biography

• Born in Khwarazm in 973
• Political Events in 995
• Al-Biruni flees to Rayy, returns in 997

3
(No Transcript)
4

• Political Changes
• Mahmud of Ghazna
• Died in 1048

5
Scholarly Endeavors

• Chemistry
• Astrology
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Philosophy
• Law

• Anthropology
• Psychology
• Comparative religion
• Indology
• History

6
(No Transcript)
7
Anthropology

• Father of Anthropology
• "No one will deny that in questions of historic
  authenticity hearsay does not equal eyewitness
  for in the latter the eye of the observer
  apprehends the substance of that which is
  observed, both in the time when and in the place
  where it exists, whilst hearsay has its peculiar
  drawbacks."

8
Psychology

• Discovery of reaction time

9
Comparative Religion

• "It is rare until modern times to find so fair
  and unprejudiced a statement of the views of
  other religions, so earnest an attempt to study
  them in the best sources, and such care to find a
  method which for this branch of study would be
  both rigorous and just."
• Biruni "is admirably objective and unprejudiced
  in his presentation of facts" but "selects facts
  in such a way that he makes a strong case for
  holding that there is a certain unity in the
  religious experience of the peoples he considers,
  even though he does not appear to formulate this
  view explicitly."

10
Indology

• Father of Indology
• Fluent in Turkish, Persian, Sanskript, Hebrew,
  Syriac, Arabic

11
History

• History is the record of human society, or world
  civilization of the changes that take place in
  the nature of that society, such as savagery,
  sociability, and group solidarity of revolutions
  and uprisings by one set of people against
  another with the resuting kingdoms and states,
  with their various ranks of the different
  activities and occupations of men, whether for
  gaining their livelihood or in the various
  sciences and crafts and, in general of all the
  transformations that society undergoes by its
  very nature.

12
8 Sources of Error in Historical Writing

• Partisanship towards a creed or opinion
• Overconfidence in ones sources
• Failure to understand what is intended
• Mistaken belief in the truth

• Inability to place an event in its real context
• Desire to gain the favor of those of high rank
• Ignorance of the laws
• exaggeration

13
Lasting Influence

• Cultural comparisons
• Un-biased approach
• Historical perspective