Editing Ibn al-Haytham (section)

== Scientific method ==
{{further|Scientific method}}
{{blockquote|Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency. The duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads, and ... attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency.|Alhazen<ref name="{{harvnb|sabra|1989}}." />}}
An aspect associated with Alhazen's optical research is related to systemic and methodological reliance on experimentation (''i'tibar'')(Arabic: اختبار) and [[Scientific control|controlled testing]] in his scientific inquiries.  Moreover, his experimental directives rested on combining classical physics (''ilm tabi'i'') with mathematics (''ta'alim''; geometry in particular). This mathematical-physical approach to experimental science supported most of his propositions in ''Kitab al-Manazir'' (''The Optics''; ''De aspectibus'' or ''Perspectivae'')<ref>See, for example,[http://perspectiva.biblhertz.it/doc01.VII.html ''De aspectibus'' Book 7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818182120/http://perspectiva.biblhertz.it/doc01.VII.html |date=18 August 2018 }}, for his experiments in refraction</ref> and grounded his theories of vision, light and colour, as well as his research in catoptrics and [[dioptrics]] (the study of the reflection and refraction of light, respectively).<ref name="{{harvs|nb|last=el-bizri|year=2005a|year2=2005b}}.">{{harvs|nb|last=El-Bizri|year=2005a|year2=2005b}}.</ref> <!-- [[Bradley Steffens]] in his book ''Ibn Al-Haytham: First Scientist'' has argued that Alhazen's approach to testing and experimentation made an important contribution to the scientific method. -->

According to Matthias Schramm,<ref name=thiele2005>{{cite web| url = https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82356023.pdf| title = see Schramm's Habilitationsschrift, ''Ibn al-Haythams Weg zur Physik'' (Steiner, Wiesbaden, 1963) as cited by Rüdiger Thiele (2005) ''Historia Mathematica'' '''32''', 271–274. "In Memoriam: Matthias Schramm, 1928–2005"| access-date = 25 October 2017| archive-date = 25 October 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171025192431/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82356023.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> Alhazen "was the first to make a systematic use of the method of varying the experimental conditions in a constant and uniform manner, in an experiment showing that the intensity of the light-spot formed by the projection of the [[moonlight]] through two small [[apertures]] onto a screen diminishes constantly as one of the apertures is gradually blocked up."<ref>{{harvnb|Toomer|1964|pp=463–464}}</ref> G. J. Toomer expressed some skepticism regarding Schramm's view,<ref name="auto1">{{harvnb|Toomer|1964|p=465}}</ref> partly because at the time (1964) the ''Book of Optics'' had not yet been fully translated from Arabic, and Toomer was concerned that without context, specific passages might be read anachronistically. While acknowledging Alhazen's importance in developing experimental techniques, Toomer argued that Alhazen should not be considered in isolation from other Islamic and ancient thinkers.<ref name="auto1" /> Toomer concluded his review by saying that it would not be possible to assess Schramm's claim that Ibn al-Haytham was the true founder of modern physics without translating more of Alhazen's work and fully investigating his influence on later medieval writers.<ref name=toomer1964Review>[[G. J. Toomer]]. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/228328?pg=464 Review at Toomer's 1964 review of Matthias Schramm (1963) ''Ibn Al-Haythams Weg Zur Physik''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326070235/http://www.jstor.org/stable/228328?pg=464 |date=26 March 2017 }} Toomer p. 464: "Schramm sums up [Ibn Al-Haytham's] achievement in the development of scientific method.", p. 465: "Schramm has demonstrated .. beyond any dispute that Ibn al-Haytham is a major figure in the Islamic scientific tradition, particularly in the creation of experimental techniques." p. 465: "Only when the influence of ibn al-Haytam and others on the mainstream of later medieval physical writings has been seriously investigated can Schramm's claim that ibn al-Haytam was the true founder of modern physics be evaluated."</ref>