An Expedition to Heal the Wounds of War

The 1919 Eclipse and Eddington as Quaker Adventurer

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3359784
AutoresMatthew Stanley (0000-0002-9050-4805, Harvard University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2003
Volumen94
Número1
Páginas57-89
Fecha de publicación2003-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaIsis (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0021-1753 • E-ISSN: 1545-6994
EditorialUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/376099
PMID12725104
OpenAlexW2279422905
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas13

The 1919 eclipse expedition's confirmation of general relativity is often celebrated as a triumph of scientific internationalism. However, British scientific opinion during World War I leaned toward the permanent severance of intellectual ties with Germany. That the expedition came to be remembered as a progressive moment of internationalism was largely the result of the efforts of A. S. Eddington. A devout Quaker, Eddington imported into the scientific community the strategies being used by his coreligionists in the national dialogue: humanize the enemy through personal contact and dramatic projects that highlight the value of peace and cooperation. The essay also addresses the common misconception that Eddington's sympathy for Einstein led him intentionally to misinterpret the expedition's results. The evidence gives no reason to think that Eddington or his coworkers were anything but rigorous. Eddington's pacifism is reflected not in manipulated data but in the meaning of the expedition and the way it entered the collective memory as a celebration of international cooperation in the wake of war

Adversary · Internationalism (politics · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Sympathy · History · History of Science and Natural History · Law · Philosophy and Literary Analysis · Psychology · Social Psychology · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments