The history of science as the progress of the human spirit: The historiography of astronomy in the eighteenth century |
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Authors: | Daniel ?pelda |
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Institution: | 1. Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RH, United Kingdom;2. Faculty of Science & Centre for Science and Culture, Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Friedrich-Streib-Str. 2, 96450 Coburg, Germany |
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Abstract: | In the eighteenth century, the historiography of astronomy was part of a wider discussion concerning the history of the human spirit. The concept of the human spirit was very popular among Enlightenment authors because it gave the history of human knowledge continuity, unity and meaning. Using this concept, scientists and historians of science such as Montucla, Lalande, Bailly and Laplace could present the history of astronomy in terms of a progress towards contemporary science that was slow and could be interrupted at times, but was still constant, regular, and necessary. In my paper I intend to explain how the originally philosophical concept of the human spirit was transferred to the history of astronomy. I also introduce the basic principles to which the development of the spirit is subject in astronomy, according to historians of astronomy. The third part of the paper describes how historians of astronomy took into account the effect of social and natural factors on the history of astronomy. |
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Keywords: | Historiography of astronomy The history of the human spirit The idea of scientific progress Montucla Bailly |
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