Clothing and the Discovery of Science

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8046348
AutoresIan Gilligan (0000-0003-2339-6573, The University of Sydney, autor de correspondencia)
Año2023
Volumen29
Número3
Páginas645-674
Fecha de publicación2023-07-26
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaFoundations of Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1233-1821 • E-ISSN: 1572-8471
EditorialSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s10699-023-09924-x
OpenAlexW4385318039
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas90

In addition to natural curiosity, science is characterized by a number of psychological processes and perceptions. Among the psychological features, scientific enquiry relates to uncovering—or discovering—aspects of a world perceived as hidden from humans. A speculative theoretical model is presented, suggesting the evolution of science reflects psychological repercussions of wearing clothes. Specifically, the natural world is perceived as hidden due to the presence of clothing. Three components of scientific enquiry may arise from clothing: detachment from sensual experience, a perception that the world is veiled in mystery, and an intellectual desire to uncover the hidden structure of nature. Rather than beginning with the emergence of Homo sapiens , the proposed connection with clothing implies that psychological foundations for science began to develop during the last ice age, with the invention of complex clothes that fully covered the human body. After the end of the last ice age, elements of scientific thinking began to emerge in societies where clothing was worn routinely for psychosocial reasons, including modesty. Notably, a scientific attitude was essentially absent in hunter-gatherer communities where nakedness remained the norm. This novel perspective aims to advance the history and philosophy of science, revealing the emergence of science as a situated phenomenon contingent on humans being covered

Curiosity · Homo sapiens · Psychological science · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Fashion and Cultural Textiles