| Impure epistemology and the search for the nervous agent: a case study in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century neurophysics. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 11616298 Owner: HMD Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
In this contribution, I argue for epistemological impurity as the key to the historical reconstruction of the proto-biological sciences of the eighteenth century. The traditional approaches to the more or less complex and more or less stratified past of science either focus on the ideal content of that which has in the meantime been recognized as standard biological knowledge (transmitted from generation to generation by textbooks) or otherwise try to uncover the implicit cognitive principles at work in order to reveal their shortcomings (as measured against today's accepted criteria = epistemological presentism). A closer look at the breakdown of the classical models of mechanistic explanation and the detailed analysis of the new empirico-experimental research in the neurophysiology of the eighteenth century shows, however, that eclectic procedures of various kinds have dominated the field. This eclecticism (the principle of epistemological impurity) supported, and was in turn supported by, what has recently become known as "thinking with one's hand." The paper illustrates this specific kind of thinking (and experimental acting) with reference to the case of Nicolas Le Cat's microphysics of nervous activity. |
| | |
Authors:
|
A Métraux |
Related Documents
:
|
8808388 - Perspectives: a proposed general model of the "mechanostat" (suggestions from a new ske... 18715228 - Sulphur isotopes and the search for life: strategies for identifying sulphur metabolism... 9213608 - Rules and regulations on the collection in cameroon of biological materials for biologi... 7093598 - The dexamethasone suppression test for melancholia. 23415548 - Stability of black cohosh triterpene glycosides and polyphenols: potential clinical rel... 8158748 - Current issues and future directions for performance-related research in sport psychology. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Science in context Volume: 9 ISSN: 0269-8897 ISO Abbreviation: Sci Context Publication Date: 1996 |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 1996-09-17 Completed Date: 1996-09-17 Revised Date: 2004-11-17 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 8904113 Medline TA: Sci Context Country: ENGLAND |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 57-78 Citation Subset: Q |
Affiliation:
|
Otto-Selz Institute, University of Mannheim. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Biophysics
/
history* France History, 18th Century Neurophysiology / history* Philosophy, Medical / history* |
| Personal Name Subject | |
Personal Name Subject:
|
N Le Cat |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Clara Schumann: 'A woman's love and life': a psychoanalytic interpretation.
Next Document: Dr Robert Greenhill Cochrane CMG MD FRCP DTM&H: leprologist par excellence.