How Could Science be Different?

The question is whether science would be substantially different had it emerged in a cultural context other than that of early modern Europe. The answer is that science would be much the same, no matter where and when it originated. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that science is an investigation into nature, and nature is one and the same reality confronting all people alike. Hence, actual science and any possible alternative science, having the same object before them, would have to be very much alike. The second reason is that any society or culture in which science could emerge would have to be similar to early modern Europe in important respects. The preconditions for the emergence of science impose conditions on any society which could be regarded as a plausible candidate for the home society of science.

Laurence Hitterdale

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