Research Centre «Forms of Knowledge in the Ancient World»

in collaboration with

Scuola Superiore di Studi in Filosofia
Dottorato di Ricerca in Antichità classiche e loro Fortuna. Archeologia, Filologia, Storia
Dottorato di Ricerca in Filosofia

Prof. Lucio Russo

University of Rome Tor Vergata
Department of Mathematics

Some Examples of Transmission of Knowledge from Antiquity to Modern Science

Wednesday, November 5, 2014, h. 15
University of Rome Tor Vergata
Macroarea di Lettere e Filosofia (1 Columbia st., Rome)
Building B, 3rd floor, conference room «Roberto Pretagostini»

Download the PDF poster (294 Kb)

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Lucio Russo teaches Calculus of Probabilities at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He spent periods of study at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques and Princeton University. In the context of the history of science he conducted researches on Hipparchus’ astronomy, heliocentrism in Seleucus of Seleucia, the definitions of the first book of Euclid’s Elements and the first postulate of Optics, the history of the theory of tides in the Hellenistic age and in early modern age, the contacts between America and the ancient civilizations. Among his writings there are “La rivoluzione dimenticata: il pensiero scientifico greco e la scienza moderna”; “Segmenti e bastoncini: dove sta andando la scuola?”; “L’America dimenticata: i rapporti tra le civiltà e un errore di Tolomeo”.

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«It now becomes conceivable, although surely far from being demonstrated, that human history, just like biological evolution, is the result of a series of unpredictable and largely accidental events, which opened special paths among the many possible, one of the which resulted in the form of civilization to which we are accustomed, now hegemon on a global scale. (…) The failure of a supposed single predetermined path of evolution would restore the past history in all its complexity, and would assign to present mankind the huge responsibility of freely choosing its future developments».