Science and Popular Culture

科学与大众文化

• 批准号: 9321061
• 负责人: William Eamon
• 金额: $ 8万
• 依托单位: New Mexico State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fixed Amount Award
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-07-01 至 1998-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9321061&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Science; Popular; Culture

9321061 Eamon The history of science is largely the history of "great men" who develop the "great theories" or make the most exciting discoveries. Numerous biographies have been written about Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. Their papers are published; theories-- indeed, even scientific revolutions--are named after them. While the general public certainly knows of these great men, they hardly ever understand the theories which they presented. Instead, they embrace such popular theories as astrology, creationism, and the occult. Legislatures in the United States pass laws to support the presentation of creationism in the schools while whole cultures consult astrologers about appropriate times for important events. Even the first lady of the United States consulted one in order to determine when her husband should hold summit conferences. What is the relationship of science and this popular culture? If we are to understand the role of science and technology in our society, we must examine how scientific theories that we in the scientific community accept as correct relate to theories that capture the attention of popular culture. It is this relationship that Professor Eamon is examining. Specifically, Professor Eamon is examining the relationship between scientific and popular cultures in Italy, focusing on the life, career, and intellectual milieu of the Italian surgeon and natural philosopher Leonardo Fioravanti. Fioravanti appropriated ideas and practices from both scientific and popular cultures, and developed an empiricist natural philosophy that reflected both. He popularized his "science of experience in a series of eight widely read books on medicine, natural philosophy, and social criticism. By showing how Fioravanti understood (and sometimes misunderstood) academic science and medicine, and how he integrated it with his experiences, Professor Eamon hopes to explore the dynamics of cultural appropriation of science and the crea tion of "popular science" that mirrors in a very distorted sense the theories of the leading scientists of his day. ***

9321061 Eamon 科学史很大程度上是发展“伟大理论”或做出最令人兴奋的发现的“伟人”的历史。 关于艾萨克·牛顿、查尔斯·达尔文和阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦的传记有很多。他们的论文发表；理论——事实上，甚至科学革命——都是以他们的名字命名的。 虽然公众当然知道这些伟人，但他们几乎不理解他们提出的理论。 相反，他们接受占星术、神创论和神秘学等流行理论。 美国的立法机构通过法律支持在学校中展示神创论，而整个文化则向占星家咨询重要事件的适当时间。 就连美国第一夫人也曾咨询过一位人士，以确定她的丈夫何时应举行峰会。 科学和这种流行文化有什么关系？ 如果我们要了解科学技术在社会中的作用，我们必须研究我们在科学界接受的正确科学理论与引起大众文化关注的理论之间的关系。 伊蒙教授正在研究的正是这种关系。 具体来说，埃蒙教授正在研究意大利科学与流行文化之间的关系，重点关注意大利外科医生和自然哲学家莱昂纳多·菲奥拉万蒂的生活、职业和知识环境。 菲奥拉万蒂借鉴了科学文化和流行文化的思想和实践，并发展了反映两者的经验主义自然哲学。 他在一系列八本广泛阅读的医学、自然哲学和社会批评书籍中普及了他的“经验科学”。通过展示菲奥拉万蒂如何理解（有时是误解）学术科学和医学，以及他如何将其与自己的经验相结合，埃蒙教授希望探索文化挪用科学的动态以及“大众科学”的创造，这种科学在一种非常扭曲的意义上反映了他那个时代领先科学家的理论。 ***