C. K. Raju interviewed by Claude Alvares (2013) [part 4 of 4]

TV Multiversity is proud to present a five part series featuring Professor C. K. Raju interviewed by Claude Alvares. Professor Raju brings to bear his immense knowledge of mathematics, history, and philosophy in providing a systematic deconstruction of the Eurocentrism of mathematics as currently conceived and taught. Beginning with a discussion of why mathematics has become so difficult to learn, the interviews proceed through the myths surrounding the 'heroes' of Western science, from Euclid to Einstein. They also cover the transmission of mathematical knowledge from India through the Islamic world into Europe, where it was initially misunderstood but then coopted and corrupted by the Holy Roman Empire. One of his most startling conclusions is that mathematics has become essentially religious in nature, and he offers a way to think about and practice mathematics shorn of its theological assumptions and historical accretions. Professor Raju has developed this material over a series of books, ranging from 'Time: A Consistent Theory' (1994) to his latest work, 'Euclid and Jesus' (2012). Conducted in Penang, Malaysia, during June 2013 and totalling over nine hours of material, these exclusive new interviews were produced and distributed on behalf of the Multiversity Project for the Multiworld Network and are presented here for the first time. In Part Four, Prof. Raju surveys the role of Islam and Islamic scholars in the history of science, and suggests that there is an intrinsic association of modern technology with waste, and that Western science has become detached from ethics. In 2010 C. K. Raju was awarded the Telesio-Galilei Gold Medal in Hungary for correcting a mistake made by Einstein in the theory of relativity. Prof. Raju presently teaches at AlBukhary International University in Malaysia, where he has designed a course on 'decolonized' history and philosophy of science The course demonstrates that science and mathematics originated universally, and not with the Greeks as claimed in the myth propagated by Western historians. His most recent work is 'Euclid and Jesus' (2012), and he has written several other books on these topics, including 'Cultural Foundations of Mathematics' (2007) and 'Time: Towards a Consistent Theory' (1994). Prof. Raju is firmly committed to a non-Eurocentric view of the world and to the regeneration of 'decolonized' minds. More information is available on his homepage: http://ckraju.net The interviewer is Claude Alvares, India-based coordinator of the Multiversity Project--inspired and initiated in 2003 by S.M. Mohamed Idris in Penang, Malaysia. One of Multiversity's primary aims is the decolonisation of knowledge and the de-linking of academic teaching and research from its continuing Eurocentric bias. A specific project is the re-writing of a more factual and less biased history of science which highlights and celebrates the scientific contributions of people from across the planet, rather than solely those of Western Europe. For more about the Multiversity project, visit: http://multiworldindia.org/multiversity/ http://tvmultiversity.blogspot.com Claude Alvares also interviewed a number of students from Albukhary University, where Prof. Raju taught his math courses. The interviews are available here:    • Students of Decolonized History and Philos...