ThedevelopmentofWesternsciencehasbeenbasedontwogreatachievements, theinventionofthe formallogicalsystem( Euclideangeometry)bytheGreekphilosophers,andthediscoveryofthepossibility offindingoutcausalrelationshipsbysystematicexperiment( attheRenaissance) .Inmyopiniononeneed notbeastonishedthattheChinesesagesdidnotmakethesesteps.Theastonishingthingisthatthesedis coveriesweremadeatall.[西方科学的发展是建立在两项伟大成就上的,一是由古希腊哲学家们创 立的形式化的逻辑系统(如欧几里得几何),另一则是在文艺复兴时代发现的通过系统实验而有可 能找到事物的因果关系。据我看,不用为中国古代圣贤们没作出这些成就而感到惊讶。反倒是能 作出这两项发现倒是令人惊奇的。]