Reflections of a Troglodyte Historian of Science
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3924890 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward Grant (0009-0002-8216-6655, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 133-155 |
| Publication date | 2012-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Osiris (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0369-7827 • E-ISSN: 1933-8287 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/667825 |
| OpenAlex | W1966941444 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
For most of the twentieth century, historians of science pursued their discipline largely from the standpoint of the history of ideas (internalism), and only toward the end of the century did they expand its horizons to the social context (externalism), which now dominates the discipline. I explain how I came to accept the importance of the social context approach and then reject the claim that the history of science has been largely Eurocentric. Natural philosophy flourished in the late Middle Ages largely because the Church came to support it, rather than oppose it, and also because it became a fundamental part of the university curriculum. In the last part of my article, I consider the relations between science and religion, focusing on counterfactuals, when natural philosophers sought to show that what Aristotle regarded as naturally impossible was supernaturally possible by God's absolute power. These discussions helped lay the foundations of early modern science
Epistemology · Externalism · History of science · Internalism and externalism · Natural science · Social science · Sociology · Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies · Historical Philosophy and Science · History · History of Science and Medicine · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |