For thousands of years, our ancestors pursued the spiritual and intellectual quests of trying to understand the world that surrounds us and the world that lies within. "Why worry about all these dead people? We should look to the future. It's a waste of time to wonder about the issues of the past. As we enter the twenty-first century, it makes no sense to look backwards". Many people in our pragmatic society have this attitude, but there are those of us who find it fascinating to trace ideas held by our ancestors and to obtain thereby a more complete view of the ideas and problems of today. We shall trace these ideas through their successes and failures, through brilliant developments obstinately opposed or ignored, the lucky guesses, the incorrect hypotheses strongly clung to and the personal dangers that were the rewards of many scholars who struggled to understand them.
Our ancestors made serious mistakes in their efforts to understand natural phenomena; they got hung up for centuries on what we see as ridiculous ideas and carried out research (as we do, even if very careful) with one hand tied by their own prejudices and the other bound by the beliefs of their contemporaries. But they were just as smart as people are today. They did not have the benefit of a modern education and even now those who have had that opportunity and have nor learned from it are back with them in the Dark Ages of superstition, peddling their beliefs in astrology, numerology and the literal truth of every word in the book of Genesis.
Just as surely as democracy in wary of dictators, so intellectual democracy must be wary of intellectual dictators who destroy freedom of thought in themselves and their own children and would like to do the same thing to others.
This magnificent volume is a comprehensive history of scientific discovery and superstition from prehistoric times to the present. Beginning with humanity's first attempts to understand the natural world through mythology, Corben traces the evolution of scientific thought across four millennia. He considers the significant discoveries from Democritos to Einstein, as well as the false starts of such pseudosciences as astrology and alchemy. He also discusses the great controversies and conflicts pitting religion against science, and surveys the contributions of both the West and the East. The book includes chapters on ancient religions and the ways in which their beliefs and ceremonies became essential parts of Christianity; early developments in physics, astronomy, biology and medicine; the scientific beliefs and theological conflicts of the first Christian millennium; the contributions of Muslim scientists and physicians; the development of modern science in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the effect of the theory of evolution on religious dogma; and more. In the final chapter - a tribute to humanity's passionate search for progress - Corben summarises the lessons of the past, comparing them to the struggles of the present and the hopes for the future.
Herbert C. Corben, now retired, is a theoretical physicist who has worked in both the academic world and in private industry. For many years, Professor Corben taught one of the most popular undergraduate courses at the University of Toronto. The Struggle to Understand builds upon and expands the many fascinating lectures and research materials used in his course.