A Bridge in the History of Science: The Ṭûsî Couple and Copernicus's Geometric Legacy

Abstract

Since the late 20th century, a number of discoveries in the history of Islamic science have prompted a re-evaluation of the origins of the Scientific Revolution. The prevailing criticism of the scientific revolution concept, as it pertains to Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, is that it disregards the historical context. Given the similarity between the sources of Islamic and European scientific traditions, it is implausible that the new ideas were independent of each other. This suggests that scientific change may have preceded the advent of modern science. The present study aims to shed light on this by examining the influence of Nasīr al-Dīn al-Ṭûsî's (1201-1274) geometrical model, known as the "Ṭûsî couple", on the work of Copernicus. The study demonstrates remarkable parallels between al-Ṭūsī and Copernicus, thereby indicating that this is not merely a matter of chance. The Ṭûsî couple's utilisation of both observation and mathematics proved to be a pivotal factor in the development of Copernicus's heliocentric model of the universe. The direct influence of the Ṭûsî couple on Copernicus's "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" has led to a reconsideration of narratives of the origins of the Scientific Revolution that emphasise the importance of scientific interaction. This suggests that there was a scientific interaction between the Islamic world and European thought, and that this interaction needs to be addressed in a broader framework.