Date Thesis Awarded
5-2014
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
History
Advisor
Nicholas Popper
Committee Members
Ayfer Karakaya-Stump
Frans Schalekamp
Abstract
The status of mathematics in the Islamic world underwent a dramatic change from c. 750 to 1100 that enabled it to endure a significant theological and epistemological shift in the eleventh century. In that time, math was first recognized for its utility in confronting problems that faced Islamic society. Established as a respectable form of knowledge, math gained further scholastic interest as texts translated from Sanskrit, then Greek, introduced new problems and methods to Islamicate mathematics. It gained epistemic clout as practitioners relied increasingly on proofs to support their claims. In the eleventh century, theological changes gradually lowered the value given to human reason, but as mathematical proof was increasingly considered to transcend reason, math remained a legitimate way of knowing in the Islamicate world.
Recommended Citation
Wood, Deborah, ""Infallible Proofs": Math, Knowledge, and Religion in the Medieval Islamicate World" (2014). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 73.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/73
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