Chimisso, Cristina
(2003).
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| DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link: | https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8486(03)00027-X |
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Abstract
In this article I assess Georges Canguilhem's historical epistemology with both theoretical and historical questions in mind. From a theoretical point of view, I am concerned with the role that history can play in the understanding and evaluation of philosophical concepts. From a historical point of view, I regard historical epistemology, as developed by Gaston Bachelard and Georges Canguilhem, as a conception and practice which came out of the project, elaborated in France from the 1920s to the 1940s, of combining history of science and philosophy. I analyse in particular Canguilhem's epistemology in his theory and practive of history of science. What he called 'normative history' is the focus of my analysis. I evaluate the question of the nature and provenience of the norm employed in normative history, and I compare it with the norm as discussed by Canguilhem in _Le normal et le pathologique_. While I am critical of Canguilhem's treatment of history, I conclude that his philosophical suggestion to analyse the formation of scientific concepts 'from below' represents a useful model for history and philosophy of science, and that it can be very profitably extended to philosophical concepts.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| ISSN: | 1369-8486 |
| Keywords: | Canguilhem; Bachelard; Koyre; Historiography; Normativity; Historical epistemology. |
| Academic Unit/School: | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Politics, Philosophy, Economics, Development, Geography Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) |
| Item ID: | 3295 |
| Depositing User: | Cristina Chimisso |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jun 2006 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Feb 2017 14:25 |
| URI: | http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/3295 |
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