A. I. Sabra

Ibrahim Abdelhamid Sabra, often also AI Sabra (* 1924 ) is an Egyptian historian of science with a research focus on the history of optics (History of Optics) and history of medieval Islamic Studies. He is since 1996 professor emeritus of the "History of Arabic science" in the " Department of the History of Science", Harvard University.

Life

Academic career

Sabra received the undergraduate degree at the University of Alexandria. He then studied philosophy of science Karl Popper at the University of London, in a work on optics in the 17th century to the Ph.D. in 1955, he doctorate. Then he returned to Egypt and taught from 1955 to 1962, first as a lecturer, then as Associated Professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alexandria. From 1962 to 1972 he was Senior Research Fellow, Special Lecturer and latterly as Professor ( Reader) for history of classical archeology (History of the Classical Tradition ) on the associated with the University of London Warburg Institute. From 1972 until his retirement in 1996 Sabra taught at Harvard.

Research and Sabra thesis

In the center Sabras research focused on the history of optics. Was published in 1954, a first article in "The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science " on Newton's corpuscular theory of light under the title A Note on a Suggested Modification of Newton 's Corpuscular Theory of Light to Reconcile it with Foucault 's Experiment of 1850. Already a classic of history of Science postwar counts his work of 1967 on the theories of light from Descartes to Newton ( theories of Light from Descartes to Newton ). Sabra examined in particular the history of optics in his Arab homeland and published in 1983 (in English 1989) a paper on the "Book by sight " ( Kitaab al - Manazir ) of the mathematician, optician and astronomer Abu Ali al -Hasan ibn al - Haitham (The Optics of Ibn al- Haytham: .. Kitaab al - Manazir Books I - II -III).

Under the influence of Ernst Gombrich, Frances A. Yates and Daniel Pickering Walker Sabra extended his interests to the scientific history of cultures and turned mainly to the influence of Ancient Greece to the Arab sciences. In his article The Appropriation and Subsequent Naturalization of Greek Science in Medieval Islam, he turned in 1987 against the theories of Pierre Duhem, that Islamic cultures have ancient Greek science is not only passively acquired and preserved, but rather actively used and developed. His theory of natural science in the intercultural transmission was known in industry circles as " Sabra thesis ".

Honors and Awards

2005 Abdelhamid I. Sabra received the George Sarton Medal, the highest prestigious award for the History of Science, founded by George Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson History of Science Society ( HSS).

Publications (selection)

Abdelhamid I. Sabra wrote more than 50 professional articles, translated numerous works and has published thirteen books, including: