Incidences on the philosophy of science of the historiographical thema
“Science and cultural diversity”

Michel Paty (1)

1 REHSEIS (UMR_7596) - Recherches Epistémologiques et Historiques sur les Sciences Exactes et les Institutions Scientifiques

History of science and philosophy of science are interrelated despite the separation that predominantly occurred in xx th century, at least in cultural contexts influenced by the “anglo-saxon” philosophy. But, actually, history of science provides a rich field of philosophical problems, and this consideration may powerfully help renewing many “standard” considerations of the philosophy of science, such as, for instance, the changes and evolutions of scientific theories and representations, to take only one example, but which has been significantly related with the structural or systemic character of these theories or representation, with known consequences from the “impossibility solutions” (claimed for rationality) on the debates about the social aspects of science. If, instead, history and rational concerns are to be taken together in considering, both philosophically and historically, the problem of scientific changes, then the a priori impossibility shows no more relevant, as the existence of changes is taken as factual, and we have to think deeper to understand how they occur.

Mots clés: discovery; history of science; invention; knowledge; philosophy of science; rationality

Domaines: Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences

Michel Paty. Incidences on the philosophy of science of the historiographical thema
“Science and cultural diversity”. Saldaña, Juan José. Science and Cultural Diversity. Filling a Gap in the History of Science, Cadernos de Quipu 5, p.171-177, 2001. ⟨halshs-00190000⟩