Scientific patronage in the age of Darwin: The curious case of William Boyd Dawkins

This essay examines the curious relationship between Charles Darwin and the palaeontologist William Boyd Dawkins (1837–1929). Dawkins was a beneficiary of Darwin's patronage and styled himself as a Darwinian to Darwin and the public, yet viciously attacked Darwin and his theory in anonymous reviews. This has confused historians who have misunderstood the exact nature of Dawkins's attitude towards evolution and his relationship to Darwin. The present study explains both the reasons for Dawkins's contradictory statements and his relationship with Darwin. I introduce Batesian mimicry as a conceptual framework to make sense of Dawkins's actions, suggesting that Dawkins mimicked a Darwinian persona in order to secure advancement in the world of Victorian science. Dawkins's pro-Darwinian stance, therefore, was a façade, an act of mimicry. I argue that Dawkins exploited Darwin for his patronage – which took the form of advice, support from Darwin's well-placed friends, and monetary assistance – while safely expressing his dissent from Darwinian orthodoxy in the form of anonymous reviews. This is, therefore, a case study in how scientific authority and power could be gained and maintained in Victorian science by professing allegiance to Darwin and Darwinism.     

Poincaréan intuition revisited: what can we learn from Kant and Parsons?

This paper provides a comprehensive critique of Poincaré’s usage of the term intuition in his defence of the foundations of pure mathematics and science. Kant’s notions of sensibility and a priori form and Parsons’s theory of quasi-concrete objects are used to impute rigour into Poincaré’s interpretation of intuition. In turn, Poincaré’s portrayal of sensible intuition as a special kind of intuition that tolerates the senses and imagination is rejected. In its place, a more harmonized account of how we perceive concrete objects is offered whereby intuitive knowledge is consistently a priori whatever the domain of application.     

闪耀另类炫目的光彩——试论波德莱尔散文诗的特征

波德莱尔的散文诗对肮脏、畸形的现实社会进行讽刺和挖苦,对传统、腐朽的世俗习气给以无情鞭挞与猛烈抨击。他对＂美＂所作的引人入胜的描绘,表现了对理想热切的向往和追求。他善于化丑为美,变腐朽成神奇。他的作品闪耀着另类的炫目的光彩。诗人所处的时代社会和生活经历以及艺术追求正是这种光彩的源泉。     

爱与死——从《圣经》视野解读西方文学研究之三

英国同时代两个作家狄更斯、爱米莉在他们的小说《双城记》、《呼啸山庄》中提出了爱与死的主题。《双城记》的卡顿和《呼啸山庄》的希思克利夫都因爱而死 ,但是他们在这一过程中的生命感觉不同 ,对爱的态度和反应不一样 ,他们因爱而死的价值内涵不可同日而语     

《远大前程》女性形象探析

狄更斯是伟大的批判现实主义作家。本文通过探析其巨著《远大前程》中的女性形象，颂扬了狄更斯的人道主义精神，并揭示其作为维多利亚时代的作家所固有的性道德、家庭道德等方面的理念。     

惠斯通对物理学的贡献

简述惠斯通生平,回顾了他对电学测量特别是对电桥的研究,以及他对立体视觉、声学和电报技术的研究,分析了他自学成材、执着追求等成功的因素.     

试论史文朋诗歌中的爱情观

文章从文化、文学、宗教、哲学的角度论述了英国维多利亚时期著名诗人A.C.史文朋诗歌中的爱情观。史文朋的爱情诗歌用中世纪的题材和背景,创造了一个独特的完整的爱情神话体系,这个爱情神话体系是反传统、反道德、反宗教、反维多利亚的。     

从《双城记》中两个人物看作者的思想局限

《双城记》通过对马奈特医生和得发奇太太的一生经历的描写,反映了贵族阶级对人民大众的残酷剥削、迫害,爆发革命的必然;更折射出作者反对暴力革命,主张用宽容、仁爱解决阶级矛盾,以求天下太平、社会稳定的小资产阶级思想局限性。     

对“同种金属热电现象”的解析

“同种金属热电偶”跟经典热电偶相比有根本的区别和突出的特点．其电动势产生的原理仍然是电偶两臂的汤姆逊电动势之差．其输出的电动势比经典热电偶大得多．