Transposing "Style" from the History of Art to the History of Science

Bibliographic Data

ID5147790
AuthorsAnna Wessely (Eötvös Loránd University, corresponding author)
Year1991
Volume4
Issue2
Pages265-278
Publication date1991-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s026988970000096x
OpenAlexW1990596815
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited21

The ArgumentThe paper argues for the restricted viability of the concept of style in the history of science. Since historians of science borrow this term from art history or the sociology of knowledge, the paper outlines its emergence and function in these disciplines, in order to show that the need for ever subtler stylistic distinctions in historical description inevitably leads to the dissolution of the concept of style itself."Style" will be defined in predominantly cognitive or technical terms when imputed to an individual; in social or moral terms when thought to be carried by some collective entity. Both descriptions are given normative interpretations. A good individual style, then, is regarded as the pledge for valid knowledge or insights of a "higher order," while a collective style, understood as the vehicle of successful intra group communication, involves the acceptance of certain rhetorical norms and/or socially shared values that are supposed to structure that style. "National styles" belong to the latter category; the emergence of this dubious notion can best be explained in sociological terms.If historians of science insist on adopting the concept of style, they will have to agree on its meaning. The paper concludes, therefore, with a rough typology of its most frequent meanings and uses

Argument (complex analysis · Epistemology · Function (biology · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Normative · Order (exchange · Presupposition · Rhetoric · Rhetorical device · Rhetorical question · Social science · Sociology · Style (visual arts · Typology · Historical and Literary Studies · Historical Art and Culture Studies · History · Philosophy · Visual Culture and Art Theory

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