Methodology and Apologetics
Thomas Sprat's History of the Royal Society
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8394348 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Wood (0000-0002-9030-6868, University of Leeds, corresponding author), P B Wood |
| Year | 1980 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-26 |
| Publication date | 1980-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the History of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0874 • E-ISSN: 1474-001X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0007087400017453 |
| OpenAlex | W2101387952 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
| References cited | 41 |
Central to Thomas Sprat's History of the Royal Society was the description and justification of the method adopted and advocated by the Fellows of the Society, for it was thought that it was their method which distinguished them from ancients, dogmatists, sceptics, and contemporary natural philosophers such as Descartes. The Fellows saw themselves as furthering primarily a novel method, rather than a system, of philosophy, and the History gave expression to this corporate self-perception. However, the History's description of their method was not necessarily accurate. Rather, as will be argued below, by a combination of subtle misrepresentation and selective exposition, Sprat portrayed a method which would further the aims of social and ecclesiastical stability and material prosperity, essential for the Royal Society since its continued existence depended upon the creation of a social basis for the institutionalized pursuit of natural philosophy. Some link had to be forged between the activities of the Society and the intellectual and social aspirations of the Restoration. To understand the intent and meaning of Sprat's History and the method there portrayed, we must therefore look to the institutional needs which it fulfilled
Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Intellectual history · Meaning (existential · Political science · Prosperity · Skepticism · Social science · Sociology · Sprat · Typology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Anthropology · Law · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Scottish History and National Identity
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| Unique citing works | 25 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,56 |
| Citation span | 1981 - 2021 (41) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 24 |