A History of Science in Society by Ede Andrew;Cormack Lesley B.;

Author:Ede, Andrew;Cormack, Lesley B.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science – History, Science – Social aspects – History, Science – Philosophy – History
Publisher: University of Toronto Press

The Professionalization of Science and Science Education

It is not surprising that the era that shaped Darwinian theory was also the era that produced Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s cool, scientific, and supremely logical private detective. Scientists, even if they continued to argue the fine details, seemed to be revealing all of nature, and it seemed possible to create a complete picture of how the physical world operated. With such knowledge, no secret could be kept from the observant mind. Darwin and Sherlock Holmes were also alike in being amateurs rather than professionally trained and employed. While Holmes gave metaphorical birth to generations of private detectives, Darwin, as gifted and insightful as he was, represented the waning of a scientific style. He was the last of the great amateur gentleman scientists. For science as an occupation, the nineteenth century was a turning point. There was an increasing sense of science as a professional activity, and with this came a growing separation of the study of nature as a branch of philosophy. This was spurred by the appearance of more and increasingly specialized scientific organizations and the development of new institutions in education and research dedicated to science. While it may have been used by German academics earlier, the term “scientist” was a product of the nineteenth century, introduced by William Whewell (1794–1866) to a large audience at a meeting of the BAAS in 1833.

The reign of Napoleon offers a good starting point for the expansion of science as a profession. Although Napoleon’s actual support for science was somewhat variable (for example, he abandoned a number of scientists in Egypt when he escaped the British there), he did foster a sense of the importance of technical knowledge. The Académie des Sciences was disbanded in 1793 during the Revolution, but it re-emerged in 1795 as part of the Institut National. In addition to the Académie Napoleon approved the foundation of the Société d’Arcueil in 1805, which had as members such leading thinkers as Claude Berthollet, Pierre-Simon Laplace, and Alexander von Humboldt.

More important than the Société d’Arcueil was the transformation of the École Polytechnique into the leading scientific and engineering school of the era. Originally founded as the École centrale des travaux publics in 1794 by the National Convention, it changed its name in 1795 and absorbed the state artillery school in 1802. First under the Ministry of the Interior, the connection with the military was completed in 1804 when Napoleon transformed it into an elite military school. The artillery had always been the most intellectual branch of the military, requiring a broad understanding of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and elements of what we would call materials science. At the same time, the artillery was not steeped in ancient traditions and offered a path to military command that was not determined solely by social rank. It had attracted many bright young men of lower birth, including Napoleon, who was commissioned as an artillery officer in 1785.

The École Polytechnique was founded by three men: Lazare

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