Answering Joseph Needham’s Question

The Wikipedia entry on the history of science and technology in China says:

Ancient Chinese scientists and engineers made significant scientific innovations, findings and technological advances across various scientific disciplines including the natural sciences, engineering, medicine, military technology, mathematics, geology and astronomy. Among the earliest inventions were the binary code, and one of the earliest examples of genetic sequencing, abacus, the sundial, and the Kongming lantern. The Four Great Inventions, the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing — were among the most important technological advances, only known to Europe by the end of the Middle Ages 1000 years later.

Verily, the Chinese civilization has no lack of applied science, technology, and innovations. What it lacks is a sound theoretical basis for the development of modern science. British chemist and Sinologist, Joseph Needham, asked the famous question, “Why had modern science not developed in Chinese civilization but only in Europe?”

If I had to answer that question, I would venture to say that it has much to do with the proliferation of pseudoscience in China. If China were to start its scientific effort with a blank slate, perhaps it would be better. But the fact is that the Chinese civilization is closely tied to the prehistoric shamanic thinking of indigenous cultures. Chinese philosopher, Li Zehou, stated that the roots of Chinese thought lie in shamanism. Much of shamanic thought has to do with pseudoscience and superstition. The reasoning underlying the practice of “sympathetic magic” is a good example.

I am reading Joseph Needham’s book, The Shorter Science and Civilization in China. In the chapter on The Pseudoscience and the Skeptical Tradition, he said the following:

Superstitions flourished in China just as strongly as in every other ancient culture. Divining the future was part of the background of ancient and medieval Chinese thinking. An integral part of the ancient picture of the universe, it simply cannot be ignored if we are to get a balanced picture of Chinese science, especially since some of this superstition led, almost imperceptibly, to important discoveries and practical investigations of the natural world. After all, magic and science both involve…