Comparison at the Interface of the Physical Sciences and the Life Sciences, 1960–2000 (D06 [C04])

该项目第一阶段的一个重要成果是，虽然有可能查明比较的概念障碍，但通过强调某些第三比较因素并降低其他因素的等级，这些障碍很快就被消除了。在第二阶段，我们正在探讨某些比较标准被如此取消的原因。我们假设，通过叙述进步而形成的科学学科是一个有影响力的因素。这表明科学之外的因素可能是最重要的。这一假设将通过比较这些外部或社会因素的影响与扩大方法领域的内部驱动力来评估。该项目旨在阐述社会和认识比较对科学学科形成以及对生命科学概念和体制变化的影响。

One important outcome of the first phase of the project was that although it is possible to identify conceptual obstacles to comparison, these were dissolved quickly by emphasizing certain tertia comparationis and downgrading others. In the second phase, we are exploring the reasons for such a privileging of certain standards of comparison. We assume that the formation of scientific disciplines through narratives of progress is an influential factor. This indicates that factors from the outside of science may have been of prime importance. This hypothesis will be assessed by comparing the impact of such external or social factors with the internal drive to expand the domain of methods. The project serves to elaborate on the influence of social and epistemic comparisons on the formation of scientific disciplines and on conceptual and institutional changes in the life sciences.