Abstract
I chronicle the changing ways in which, broadly speaking, twentieth-century historians of science have conceived of “heroes” in science. Firstly, I describe how the image of the genius scientist who unearthed certain, “positive” knowledge was discarded by the first generation of professional historians of science in the first half of the twentieth century. Secondly, I explain how subsequent contextualization waves from the 1960s onwards caused a further decrease of strongly positive evaluations of individual scientists in professional historiographical works. In order to both limit the scope as well as to provide specific examples, I use the work of Dutch historian of science Reijer Hooykaas as a looking glass through which to describe the broader developments in the historiography of science.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 29 Sept 2023 |
Event | Does science need heroes? (Nobel) Prizes in the sciences in past and present - Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Leiden, Netherlands Duration: 29 Sept 2023 → 30 Sept 2023 https://rijksmuseumboerhaave.nl/symposium-does-science-need-heroes/ |
Conference
Conference | Does science need heroes? (Nobel) Prizes in the sciences in past and present |
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Country/Territory | Netherlands |
City | Leiden |
Period | 29/09/23 → 30/09/23 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- history of science