Every culture has to balance innovation and conservation. Most innovations are bad because they are maladaptive, but since a few of them turn out well, absence of innovation in a culture is also... Show moreEvery culture has to balance innovation and conservation. Most innovations are bad because they are maladaptive, but since a few of them turn out well, absence of innovation in a culture is also maladaptive. The question is where the balance is to be struck, and in the Islamic case the answer was well toward the conservative end of the spectrum. Show less
For much of the 20th century, it was widely assumed that early modern Arabic-Islamic civilisation had been in an advanced state of 'decadence' or 'sclerosis'. The 'golden' or 'classical' age of... Show moreFor much of the 20th century, it was widely assumed that early modern Arabic-Islamic civilisation had been in an advanced state of 'decadence' or 'sclerosis'. The 'golden' or 'classical' age of Arabic-Islamic civilisation had, it was believed, come to an end in the 13th or 14th century, giving way to a 'dark age' of intellectual stagnation - an age of 'imitation and compilation' - that lasted until the 19th century 'renaissance' (nahda). This sad intellectual state of affairs was also thought to mirror an imagined economic and demographic decline attributed to Ottoman (mis)rule and/or shifts in international trade routes. Show less
