Scientists and their cultural heritage: Knowledge,politics and ambivalent relationships

For many years, scientific heritage has received attention from multiple actors from different spheres of activity—archives, museums, scientific institutions. Beyond the heterogeneity revealed when examining the place of scientific heritage in different places, an authentic patrimonial configuration emerges and takes the form of a nebula of claims and of accomplishments that result, in some cases, in institutional and political recognition at the national level, in various country all around the world. At the international level, the creation of the international committee dedicated to University Museums and Collections (UMAC) within the International Council of Museums (ICOM) certainly testified from this raising interest in academic heritage and the existence of a specific community concern with it.This article presents numerous initiatives for the preservation of scientific heritage in France, with the goal of analysing the relationship scientists have with their heritage. We argue that scientific communities have a special relationship with heritage, which is characterized by a number of ambiguities. We show that such ambivalences allow analysis of identity, discipline, professional, and social issues operative in defining heritage and being redefined by heritage. To explore these dimensions, we have chosen to present three different case studies. The first traces the institutional uses of heritage by a scientific institution, the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA), through the transformation of the first French atomic reactor (ZOE) into a museum. The second example describes the initiatives of French astronomers from the mid-1990s to construct a national programme for the protection of astronomy heritage. Lastly, we recount the case of universities, with the example of the Université de Strasbourg.     

Dark matter,the Equivalence Principle and modified gravity

Dark matter (DM) is an essential ingredient of the present Standard Cosmological Model, according to which only 5% of the mass/energy content of our universe is made of ordinary matter. In recent times, it has been argued that certain cases of gravitational lensing represent a new type of evidence for the existence of DM. In a recent paper, Peter Kosso attempts to substantiate that claim. His argument is that, although in such cases DM is only detected by its gravitational effects, gravitational lensing is a direct consequence of Einstein's Equivalence Principle (EEP) and therefore the complete gravitational theory is not needed in order to derive such lensing effects. In this paper I critically examine Kosso's argument: I confront the notion of empirical evidence involved in the discussion and argue that EEP does not have enough power by itself to sustain the claim that gravitational lensing in the Bullet Cluster constitutes evidence for the DM Hypothesis. As a consequence of this, it is necessary to examine the details of alternative theories of gravity to decide whether certain empirical situations are indeed evidence for the existence of DM. It may well be correct that gravitational lensing does constitute evidence for the DM Hypothesis—at present it is controversial whether the proposed modifications of gravitation all need DM to account for the phenomenon of gravitational lensing and if so, of which kind—but this will not be a direct consequence of EEP.     

Models, scientific realism, the intelligibility of nature, and their cultural significance

In this article, I will view realist and non-realist accounts of scientific models within the larger context of the cultural significance of scientific knowledge. I begin by looking at the historical context and origins of the problem of scientific realism, and claim that it is originally of cultural and not only philosophical, significance. The cultural significance of debates on the epistemological status of scientific models is then related to the question of ‘intelligibility’ and how science, through models, can give us knowledge of the world by presenting us with an ‘intelligible account/picture of the world’, thus fulfilling its cultural-epistemic role. Realists typically assert that science can perform this role, while non-realists deny this. The various strategies adopted by realists and non-realists in making good their respective claims, is then traced to their cultural motivations. Finally I discuss the cultural implications of adopting realist or non-realist views of models through a discussion of the views of Rorty, Gellner, Van Fraassen and Clifford Hooker on the cultural significance of scientific knowledge.     

What do numerical (climate) models really represent?

The translation of a mathematical model into a numerical one employs various modifications in order to make the model accessible for computation. Such modifications include discretizations, approximations, heuristic assumptions, and other methods. The paper investigates the divergent styles of mathematical and numerical models in the case of a specific piece of code in a current atmospheric model. Cognizance of these modifications means that the question of the role and function of scientific models has to be reworked. Neither are numerical models pure intermediaries between theory and data, nor are they autonomous tools of inquiry. Instead, theory and data are transformed into a new symbolic form of research due to the fact that computation has become an essential requirement for every scientific practice. Therefore the question is posed: What do numerical (climate) models really represent?     

科技文化:“人的自然”延展与整合之本

"人的自然"是一个统一的整体,包括人的"身外的自然"和"自身的自然"两个方面。科技文化是"人的自然"生成和发展过程中的关键变量,它极大地拓展了人的"身外的自然",不断开掘着人的"自身的自然"。以科技文化为切入点,反省近代科学世界观,有助于丰富和提升"人的自然"的整体性,并推进人类文化的当代转型。     

浅谈科研如何促进高职高专数学教学

通过数学教学活动的实践,得出科研是提高高职高专院校教学质量的助推器,并重点对科研如何促进数学教学进行了探讨。     

以新的哲学观念理解物理世界

文章首先通过理论分析提出新的哲学观念即世界存在方式的基本原理:一切存在都是按照感性形式与理性形式互为前提相互依存而成为一体的方式存在着;感性形式是以具体而丰富多彩的方式表达着它的内在理性形式,而理性形式是以抽象而单纯威严的方式支配着它的外在感性形式;二者之间不存在从属关系.接着对常见事物、微观粒子、宏观物体、真空进行考察和分析,得到并展示了整个物理世界的存在方式,同时佐证了世界存在方式基本原理.进而得出物质和精神也是依存体,遵循世界存在方式基本原理.     

浅论术语学是知识技术的前提

20世纪70—80年代，随着信息技术的发展，人们越来越认识到术语学在知识产生、知识获取、知识代表和知识传递过程中所起的基础性作用。欧洲的术语学家从人们对信息流的研究和对知识秩序的重视上得到启发，设计了普通术语学的概念动力学模型，揭示出术语学和知识技术相互依赖、彼此依存的内在联系，并由此得出术语学和知识技术一体化的模型。文章着重对这一理论发展过程进行论述，以期为中国术语学理论提供一个新的研究视角。     

Representing with imaginary models: Formats matter

Models such as the simple pendulum, isolated populations, and perfectly rational agents, play a central role in theorising. It is now widely acknowledged that a study of scientific representation should focus on the role of such imaginary entities in scientists’ reasoning. However, the question is most of the time cast as follows: How can fictional or abstract entities represent the phenomena? In this paper, I show that this question is not well posed. First, I clarify the notion of representation, and I emphasise the importance of what I call the “format” of a representation for the inferences agents can draw from it. Then, I show that the very same model can be presented under different formats, which do not enable scientists to perform the same inferences. Assuming that the main function of a representation is to allow one to draw predictions and explanations of the phenomena by reasoning with it, I conclude that imaginary models in abstracto are not used as representations: scientists always reason with formatted representations. Therefore, the problem of scientific representation does not lie in the relationship of imaginary entities with real systems. One should rather focus on the variety of the formats that are used in scientific practice.     

新时期高校院所国家科技经费管理现状及对策

＂十二五＂时期,我国将进入以创新促转型,以转型促发展的新阶段,面对促进经济转型、创新发展模式的艰巨任务,高校院所是我国开展创新科学研究的一支重要力量。近年来,随着高等教育事业的蓬勃发展,高校院所承担的科研项目和筹措的科技经费均呈现大幅度增长,科技经费已成为高校院所重要的资金来源之一。如何提高国家科技经费的使用率、更好发挥国家财政科技经费的引导作用,是我国提高科技创新能力的一个重要任务。为提高国家财政科技经费资金使用效益,确保科研工作健康发展,需高度重视、加强高校院所国家财政科技经费管理及对策研究。