Søren Clausen

"The imaginary global history of Joseph Needham - Technology
and science in the history of China and in world history"

The purpose of the article is, first, to provide a brief introduction to the life and work of Joseph Needham [1900-1995]. Needham is a towering figure in the study of premodern Chinese science and technology. His achievements are wonderful and awe-inspiring, but his basic orientation and historical methods are also very controversial. A glance at some of the critique that has been leveled at Needham by China historians allows us to approach the question of the degree of universality in the history of science. The article argues that the study of China's premodern 'science' and 'technology' must be related to a historical pattern of development very different from that of the early modern West. Despite the impressive achievements of the Chinese in areas of what we now call science and technology, China was not on a course of convergence with modern Western science, as claimed by Needham.