Scientific legacy: the silent transition of optics from Ibn Al-Haytham (Alhazen) to Newton
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Abstract
This article examines the deep and systematic intellectual connection between Ibn al-Haytham (965-1040) and Isaac Newton (1643-1727) in the development of the science of optics, considering how it was systematically obscured and developed in the history of science centered on the South. The study identifies the role of the methodology, concepts, and mathematical framework of Haytham's major work, Kitab al-Manazir, in preparing Newton's Opticks. However, this connection was hidden in my historical writing by studying a three-level process (distortion in translation, intellectual appropriation strategy forgetting, and downgrading in the historical canon). The main indicators of the study are that this is not an exclusionary effect, but the result of an ideological construct specifically oriented towards European culture, the so-called "orientation" of science, the so-called scientific achievement. Haytham, Greek and other traditions synthesized optics into a science, and thanks to Newton, this synthesis was reworked with the tools of the European modern era (resynthesis) and made possible its development. The main call of the article is to correct this historical distortion and recognize the truly universal, multicultural, and cooperative nature of science. To this end, it is recommended to reform educational curricula, develop transcultural teaching materials, and strengthen international scientific research. In the final word, science can only be universal when all its founders - regardless of their origin - are recognized and remembered.
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