THE FORMATION OF EMPIRICAL METHODS AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS IN THE SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE OF CENTRAL ASIAN SCIENTISTS IN THE 9TH–12TH CENTURIES

Abstract

Within the framework of the Islamic Golden Age of the 9th-12th centuries, scholars of Central Asia (Movarounnahr and Khorezm) played an important role in the development of the empirical style and methods of experience in scientific thought. During this period, thinkers such as Abu Rayhan Beruni (973-1048) and Abu Ali ibn Sina (980-1037) enriched the theoretical approaches derived from Aristotle's philosophy with practical observations and experiments. When measuring the Earth's radius, Beruni used trigonometry and empirical experiments on the mountain horizon, developed experimental methods based on equilibrium and water volume to determine the density of matter, and also analyzed astronomical phenomena through precise observations. In his work "The Canon of Medicine" (Al-Qanun fi at-tibb), Ibn Sina systematized the principles of experimentation (tajribah) for evaluating the efficacy of medicinal substances. By combining analogy with experimental trials, he emphasized the necessity of considering factors such as age, gender, dosage, and the state of the illness when determining a drug's potency. These approaches solidified the roots of empiricism in medieval Eastern science and later formed the basis for the European scientific revolution. This article compares the legacies of these scholars, illuminating the mechanisms behind the formation of the empirical method and its place in the history of dunyo science.