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CHAPTER III A CRITIQUE
INTRODUCTORY
In' the orient. science became a part of religion, and the two got so much mixed up that it was impossible to extricate one from the other But in the West, they remained in hostile camps, poles apart Even now, according to scholars like A Toyanbee and others, there is no compromise between the two
Modern science in the West was born around the 12th centruy AD on the basis of inspiration it received from the Greek philosophers who had lived about 2500 years ago and who had provided 'reasoning' But the immediate impetus was provided by the quest of 'truth' which was enshrouded in and discouraged by teachings of the dominant church The Copernican theory shook the most basic theological and philosophical canons of the day It proved the intellectual spark for the tremendous acceleration of knowledge Under the prodding of Galileo Kepler Newton and others, questions of nature were thrust directly into the combative public arena of empirical inquiry Experiments became crucial and theories had to be supported by close observations Thus the scientific method stressing reasons and logic was born So modern science started in the west by breaking away from the church teachings and since in the ensuing battle science proved the stronger of the two, it dominates the western life today more than the church
In India, the ancient Jain and other savants engaged themselves in what may appear to westerners, conjectures and speculations about the origin of matter and material universe based on their spiritual
1 Jain Journal, Calcutta
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