International Journal of Business and Social Science

ISSN 2219-1933 (Print), 2219-6021 (Online) DOI: 10.30845/ijbss

Views of Western Scholars on George Sarton’s Introduction to the History of Science
Nabihah Liyana Salan, Roziah Sidik @ Mat Sidek

Abstract
This article discusses an outstanding founder figure of the discipline of history of science, namely George Sarton who contributed many works, including books and articles. His most notable success is the three-volume Introduction to the History of Science. This work contains biographies of great scientists throughout time including scientists of the Islamic civilization. In fact, the writing of this work bears references to sources of authority in the Islamic civilization. This work has also been given a distinctive evaluation by Western scholars. Thus, the purpose of this article is to examine Western scholars’ views on Sarton’s work, Introduction to the History of Science. The research methodology used is a qualitative approach by content analysis as reference sources are document in form. Besides that, a hermeneutic approach is also used to make interpretations of the work. The scope of this research focuses on the work Introduction to the History of Science and Western scholars’ views on it. Research results find that Introduction to the History of Science had received a positive response from Western scholars such as E.G.B. and Francis R.Johnson even though George Sarton had in fact referred to authoritative sources in Arabic language, particularly when discussing scientific figures in the Islamic civilization.

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