Join Us Elsewhere!
Recent Comments
HERBERT SPENCER - So… on Whewell’s Gazette: Year… client work on Whewell’s Gazette: Year 2, Vol… Hubert John on Attacks on philosophy by … Joseph Ratliff on Whewell’s Gazette: Vol:… iptv on Whewell’s Gazette: Year 03, Vo… Archives
- August 2017 (3)
- July 2017 (4)
- June 2017 (4)
- May 2017 (5)
- April 2017 (4)
- March 2017 (5)
- February 2017 (3)
- January 2017 (5)
- December 2016 (4)
- November 2016 (5)
- October 2016 (4)
- September 2016 (4)
- August 2016 (5)
- July 2016 (4)
- June 2016 (5)
- May 2016 (4)
- April 2016 (2)
- March 2016 (4)
- February 2016 (4)
- January 2016 (4)
- December 2015 (5)
- November 2015 (4)
- October 2015 (4)
- September 2015 (4)
- August 2015 (5)
- July 2015 (3)
- June 2015 (4)
- May 2015 (3)
- April 2015 (4)
- March 2015 (5)
- February 2015 (5)
- January 2015 (4)
- December 2014 (5)
- November 2014 (4)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (5)
- August 2014 (4)
- July 2014 (5)
- June 2014 (3)
- March 2014 (1)
- January 2014 (1)
- November 2013 (1)
- October 2013 (2)
- September 2013 (2)
- August 2013 (1)
- June 2013 (1)
- March 2013 (1)
- February 2013 (3)
- January 2013 (3)
- December 2012 (7)
- November 2012 (9)
- October 2012 (8)
- September 2012 (8)
- August 2012 (14)
- July 2012 (6)
- June 2012 (10)
- May 2012 (11)
- April 2012 (7)
- March 2012 (10)
- February 2012 (12)
- January 2012 (12)
- December 2011 (9)
- November 2011 (12)
- October 2011 (8)
- September 2011 (10)
- August 2011 (13)
- July 2011 (27)
- June 2011 (17)
- May 2011 (13)
- April 2011 (12)
- March 2011 (11)
- February 2011 (20)
- January 2011 (18)
- December 2010 (21)
- November 2010 (16)
- October 2010 (23)
- September 2010 (37)
- Administrative Astrology astronomy Biology Book Book Reviews Chemistry Early Scientific Printing Environmental History Epistemology Evolution Exploration General Science Geology Giants' Shoulders Historiography History Humour? Institutions Links mathematics Museums Philosophy Physics Religion Reviews Science Space Exploration Teaching HPS
History of Biology
History of Physics
History of Science: General
Philosophy of Biology
- Biology and Philosophy journal
- Center for Philosophy of Biology at Duke
- Consortium for the History and Philosophy of Biology
- History and Philosophy of Biology at Exeter
- History and Philosophy of Biology Resources
- Philosophy of Biology Web Pages
- PhilPapers
- Stanford Encyclopedia: Philosophy of Biology
- The International Society for History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB)
- The philosophy of biology: a selection of readings and resources
Philosophy of Physics
Philosophy of Science: General
Philosophy of Technology
Science Wars
-
Join 300 other subscribers
Follow me on Twitter
My TweetsFollow me on Twitter
My Tweets
Category Archives: Historiography
If not Whig history what then?
Some musings on historiography and methodology in the history of science including an explication of my drunken hotel guest theory of scientific progress.
Posted in Historiography
Leave a comment
Nobody invented the scientific method
In the past I’ve written posts explaining why the terms “father of” and “the greatest” should be firmly avoided when writing about the history of science. James Sumner has also written an excellent post The F-Word explaining why the term “the first” should also be banned … Continue reading
Posted in Historiography, History
Leave a comment
The Historical Science Society of 1840
My second post on the new Guardian Science blog, The H Word, is now up – looking at The first HSS, a 19th-century venture doomed to failure as a result of its young founder’s succumbing to bibliophilic temptation.
Posted in Historiography, History
Tagged history, history of science, James Orchard Halliwell, Manuscripts, William Whewell
Leave a comment
Scientific histories: debates among Victorian historians
To see a review of Ian Hesketh’s The Science of History in Victorian Britain: Making the Past Speak, hop over to teleskopos.
Posted in Book Reviews, Historiography
Tagged 19th century, historiography, scientific history
Leave a comment
Crimes against history: literary imagination and scientific method
A recent article in The Nation, by Peter Reddaway and Stephen F. Cohen on ‘Orlando Figes and Stalin’s Victims‘, reveals a fascinating story of the darker side of historical scholarship. It also got me thinking about some old, old debates about … Continue reading
Posted in Historiography
Leave a comment
Is Leonardo a great artist or a great scientist? Neither actually.
Is Leonardo da Vinci a great artist or a great scientist, asks Jonathan Jones on his Guardian On Arts blog and as you might have already guessed from the title the answer is neither, actually. Jones’ question is inspired by the two … Continue reading
Posted in Historiography, History
Leave a comment
Calendrical Confusion or The Dangers of Dating!
This morning one of the sources I consult to remind me of anniversaries of discoveries, births and deaths in the history of science had two entries concerning the father and son Friesian Renaissance astronomers David and Johannes Fabricius. According to this … Continue reading
Posted in astronomy, Historiography, History
Leave a comment
Being wrong is not a crime; knowing what’s right and deliberately saying the wrong thing is!
Inspired or, perhaps better said, provoked by my last post mathematician and artist Edmund Harriss has written a thoughtful post on the virtues of being wrong at his blog Maxwell’s Demon. This reaction to my post has prompted me to try to explain … Continue reading
Posted in Historiography, History, Philosophy, Science
Leave a comment
Wanting to believe
Sometimes, the extent to which people see what they wish to see seems truly remarkable. However, we shouldn’t be surprised that this very human affliction affects even those with a training or long practice in observation and logic. An article in … Continue reading
Posted in Historiography, History
Tagged forgery, history of science, Michael Chasles
Leave a comment
Ploughing with historical heifers
My previous post ended with a quote by Augustus De Morgan and it was such a good one that I make no apologies for quoting him again, this time from an 1846 biography of Newton, which you can find transcribed … Continue reading