A Study of the Influence of City-state Politics on the Structural Characteristics of Greek Science

城邦政治对希腊科学结构特征的影响研究

Abstract

Greek science is considered to be the origin of modern science because of its rational and liberal structural features. Greek science mainly adopted a theoretical-formal rational way of thinking, existed purely for its own sake, lacked utilitarian and practical purposes, was poorly institutionalized, and was highly competitive. From the perspective of Politics of Science, city-state politics was a key factor in shaping the structural characteristics of Greek science. On the one hand, civic participation shaped the rational character of Greek science. At the heart of the political process of citizen engagement is persuasion, and the Greek science it nourished is also adept at debate. Considering that pure political debate and persuasion are not powerful enough, Greek science used the method of proof and reasoning to obtain unquestionable, which is conducive to the emergence and development of theory-formal rationality to a large extent. On the other hand, political liberty shaped the liberal character of Greek science. The equality of all citizens in political rights (isonomia) ensured the non-utilitarian nature of Greek science; The freedom of speech (isegoria) of citizens to speak about public affairs made Greek science highly competitive; The ideological power of the city-state was separated from the political power, so that Greek science was less institutionalized.