Scholar's Award: The Invention of the History of Science: Bernardino Baldi's "Lives of the Mathematicians"

学者奖：科学史的发明：贝尔纳迪诺·巴尔迪的《数学家传》

• 批准号: 0646775
• 负责人: Paul Rose
• 金额: $ 10.43万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-07-01 至 2009-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0646775&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Scholar; Award; Invention; History; Science

IntroductionThis project will provide a detailed analysis of the first great history of the mathematical-physical sciences, Baldi's Lives of the Mathematicians, and then use that analysis as the lynchpin of a general evaluation of the changing concepts of "science" and "scientists" and of the "history of science" over the last 500 years. Baldi's Lives, written in Italian in 1587-96, consists of more than 200 biographies of mathematical scientists, amounting to a manuscript of over 2000 pages. It was rediscovered by the present author in Rome in 1972. The work is especially valuable since it was written by a practicing physicist who was connected to several leading mathematicians of the Renaissance. It reveals how a mathematical physicist sought to define and justify his own and his colleagues' scientific program at the outset of the Scientific Revolution by setting it in the context of the history of science since antiquity. Since Baldi, the nature of science has been expressed in changing contexts of the history of science, just as the history of science has gradually evolved as an independent discipline. This project will make available for the first time in English substantial portions of Baldi's history, as well as presenting a general intellectual historiographical account of the emergence and transformations of the historical consciousness of scientists from the Renaissance to the present.Intellectual MeritThe project takes note of the recent growth of interest in the historiography of science and pursues some of its main themes (such as the self-awareness of the scientist in the scientific enterprise, the relationship between science and its history, and the legitimating usefulness of history). But rather than merely looking at the subject ideologically or intellectually, it emphasizes the need to grasp less tangible aspects, particularly the nature of an "historical-mindedness" or sense of history, the emergence of the history of science as a mode of thinking and consciousness, and the relationship between science and its history. It will trace the origins of the writing of the history of science in the Renaissance through the Enlightenment's use of the history of science as illustrative of the rise of reason and nineteenth century progressivist interpretations. It will also examine the validation of the history of science as an independent discipline with its own tools and concepts in the twentieth century, and end with a presentation of the most recent developments in the field including constructivist, contextual, social and gender approaches. The insights gained from a critical analysis and understanding of the presuppositions and perceptions of Baldi's great history may fruitfully be applied to subsequent versions and styles of the history and historiography of science. The project aims at a synthesis that will indicate the weaknesses as well as the strengths of the various interpretations that have successively dominated the writing of the history of science from the Renaissance to the present day. To date, there is no general account of the historiography of science; this will be the first attempted general "history" of the history of science.Broader ImpactsThe project will throughout stress the symbiotic relationship of science and its contemporary cultural and social contexts, showing how the historiography of science has undergone transformations in keeping both with new scientific and cultural trends to the present day, where the complexity and fragmentation of modern culture and society are reflected in the emergence of recent new controversial approaches to the historiography of science and to science itself. It is intended to be of value as a reasonably objective description of his conception of both the internal development of his scientific work and its larger role in culture and society. It will illuminate the nature of scientific change and progress, as well as the internal dynamics of scientific discovery, and the coherence of scientific movements and revolutions. The results of the project will be disseminated by two distinct modes. One is by way of published books, and two of these are planned. One is a book on the changing face of the historiography of science, which will contribute to current discussion of the role of science in society and of the autonomy and constraints placed upon science in modern life. That book is intended for both general and specialized readerships. The other book will contain English versions of a large selection of the more important biographies in the Lives (making them available in English for the first time). This is intended to be of use to students and scholars of both the history of science and Renaissance culture. The other mode of dissemination will make use of the Web; a website will make available a complete scan of the original manuscripts and of Baldi's other works.

介绍本项目将提供一个详细的分析的第一个伟大的历史的物理科学，巴尔迪的生活的数学家，然后使用该分析的关键一般评价的变化概念的“科学”和“科学家”和“科学史”在过去的500年。《巴尔迪的生平》于1587-96年用意大利语写成，由200多本数学科学家的传记组成，手稿长达2000多页。1972年，作者在罗马重新发现了它。这项工作是特别有价值的，因为它是由一个实践物理学家谁是连接到几个领先的数学家的文艺复兴时期。它揭示了一个数学物理学家如何试图定义和证明他自己和他的同事的科学计划在科学革命的开始，通过设置它在科学史的背景下自古以来。自巴尔迪以来，科学的本质一直在不断变化的科学史语境中表达，正如科学史逐渐演变为一门独立的学科一样。这个项目将首次以英语提供巴尔迪历史的大部分内容，同时也对从文艺复兴时期到现在科学家历史意识的产生和转变进行了一般的知识史学叙述。知识的优点该项目注意到最近对科学史学的兴趣的增长，并追求其一些主要主题（如科学家在科学事业中的自我意识，科学与其历史的关系，以及历史的合法有用性）。但是，它不是仅仅从意识形态或智力上看待这一主题，而是强调需要把握不太有形的方面，特别是“历史意识”或历史感的本质，科学史作为一种思维和意识模式的出现，以及科学与其历史之间的关系。它将通过启蒙运动对科学史的使用来说明理性的兴起和世纪进步主义者的解释，追溯文艺复兴时期科学史写作的起源。它还将研究科学史作为一门独立学科的验证，在二十世纪拥有自己的工具和概念，并以介绍该领域的最新发展结束，包括建构主义，背景，社会和性别方法。从对巴尔迪伟大历史的前提和看法的批判性分析和理解中获得的见解可能会卓有成效地应用于科学历史和史学的后续版本和风格。该项目的目的是一个综合，将指出的弱点，以及从文艺复兴到今天的科学史的写作连续主导的各种解释的优势。迄今为止，还没有一个关于科学编史学的总论;这将是第一次尝试科学史的一般“历史”。更广泛的影响该项目将始终强调科学与当代文化和社会背景的共生关系，展示科学史学如何经历变革，以适应当今新的科学和文化趋势，现代文化和社会的复杂性和碎片化反映在最近出现的新的有争议的方法，科学史学和科学本身。它的目的是作为一个合理的客观描述他的概念，他的科学工作的内部发展及其在文化和社会中的更大作用的价值。它将阐明科学变革和进步的本质，以及科学发现的内在动力，以及科学运动和革命的一致性。该项目的成果将通过两种不同的方式传播。一个是通过出版书籍的方式，其中两个是计划中的。一本是关于科学编史学的变化面貌的书，这本书将有助于当前关于科学在社会中的作用以及现代生活中科学的自主性和约束的讨论。那本书是为一般读者和专业读者准备的。另一本书将包含大量精选的《生活》中更重要的传记的英文版本（使它们首次以英文提供）。这本书的目的是为学生和学者提供科学史和文艺复兴时期的文化。另一种传播方式将利用网络;一个网站将提供原始手稿和巴尔迪其他作品的完整扫描。