Abstract
This article studies Ibn al-Haytham’s treatment of the common notions from Euclid’s Elements (usually referred to today as the axioms). We argue that Ibn al-Haytham initiated a new approach with regard to these foundational statements, rejecting their qualification as innate, self-evident, or primary. We suggest that Ibn al-Haytham’s engagement with experimental science, especially optics, led him to revise the framing of Euclidean common notions in a way that would fit his experimental approach.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 62-86 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | HOPOS |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2018 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- History and Philosophy of Science