Individuals and collectives in the philosophy of Boris Hessen

An introduction

Bibliographic Data

ID14670898
AuthorsSean Winkler (0000-0002-8369-2238, University of Redlands, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume34
Issue1
Pages121-136
Publication date2021-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0269889722000096
OpenAlexW4294145190
LanguageEN
References cited20

Argument This paper provides an introduction to three translations of articles by Soviet philosopher Boris Hessen: “Mechanical Materialism and Modern Physics,” “On Comrade Timiryazev’s Attitude towards Contemporary Science” and “Marian Smoluchowski (On the Tenth Anniversary of His Death)”. It begins by presenting a central tension in Hessen’s work; namely, how even though he is better known for the externalism of his 1931 Newton paper, much of his work has been considered exemplary of an internalist approach. I then show that for Hessen, the history of modern science was defined by the discovery of the dialectical unity in opposition between dynamic and statistical regularity. This not only sheds important light on Hessen’s understanding of causation, but also reconciles the aforementioned tension by showing his approach to the relationship between individuals and collectives in the study of physical phenomena, along with the relationship between individual scientists and socioeconomic conditions

Analogy · Causation · Dialectic · Epistemology · Materialism · Political science · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy, Science, and History

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