The scientificism of the 19th century through the analysis of a very famous exposition and its consequences in the Academy

Authors

  • Juan Manuel Torres Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

Keywords:

19th century, scientism, naturalism, Du Bois-Reymond

Abstract

Firstly, we proceed to expose the scientism, a powerful ideology which prevailed in the European universities during the 19th century, and which had been consolidated gradually from the spreading of Pierre-Simon Laplace’s doctrines. Secondly, we analyze a famous talk given by Du Bois-Reymond in 1872, when he was rector of the University of Berlin and a renowned scientific. In that occasion and unexpectedly for an audience very sympathetic to scientism, Du Bois-Reymond challenged some central tenets of this ideology. Needless to say, that the event gave place to hard and rich discussions in the European academic community of that time. Thirdly, we identify some important consequences of those debates, among them the birth of a methodology for the so called Geistwissenschaften and the broken of the physicalism programme. Finally, we make some critical considerations about the old and actual scientism taking into account what nowadays science tells us about some enigmas of the natural world.

References

Fuentes

BEISER, Frederick (2014). After Hegel: German Philosophy, Princeton University Press.

DEMBSKI, W (1999). Intelligent Design, IVP Academic.

DILTHEY, Wilhelm (1978). Introducción a las Ciencias del Espíritu, Alianza Editorial.

DU BOIS-REYMOND, Emile (1874). The Limits of Our Knowledge of Nature. Popular Science Montly. (5) 1-14.

HAECKEL, Ernst (1934). The Riddle of the Universe, Watts & Co.

KÜPPERS, Bern Olaf (2018). The Computability of the World, Springer International Publishing.

MEYER, Stephen (2013). Darwin´s Doubt, Harper One.

RESCHER, Nicholas (1984). Los Límites de la Ciencia, Tecnos.

Published

30-06-2020

Issue

Section

Conferencias