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Scenes of Natural History

Nicholas Jardine

in The Scenes of Inquiry: On the Reality of Questions in the Sciences

This chapter examines the notion of transformation of a scientific discipline, a major change in the range of questions real for certain communities of its practitioners. The opening sections present ... More

This chapter examines the notion of transformation of a scientific discipline, a major change in the range of questions real for certain communities of its practitioners. The opening sections present an account of the agenda of natural history in the mid-18th century and indications of the natural historical controversies of the latter half of that century. Then it looks into a specific framework that was widely adopted in the German lands for the pursuit of natural history set out by Immanuel Kant and J. F. Blumenbach around 1800. This framework defines the range of concerns of natural historians. The following sections consider the other schemes of Goethe, Schelling, and Oken. The final section illustrates an interpretation of the changes in terms of shifts of inquiry.Less

Controversies About History

Rachel Hammersley

in James Harrington: An Intellectual Biography

Harrington engaged in controversy over particular historical models, over appropriate historical methodology, and over the relevance of history to politics. He sought not merely to impose past models ... More

Harrington engaged in controversy over particular historical models, over appropriate historical methodology, and over the relevance of history to politics. He sought not merely to impose past models in the present, but to use research into the past to inform present judgement. Harrington treated the commonwealth of Israel like any other ancient model, and emphasized its Erastianism and, more controversially, its democratic character. Sparta too was presented by him as a ‘democratic’ state against those who emphasized its monarchical or oligarchical elements. Harrington’s theory about the relationship between land and power was also grounded in his historical analysis, providing him with a distinctive account of the causes of the English Civil War. Finally, Harrington’s historical methodology set him at odds with those who championed mathematical over historical demonstration. In his historical debate, as in other aspects of his work, Harrington was charting his own middle course.Less

An Adversarial Image of Modernity

in On the Future of History: The Postmodernist Challenge and Its Aftermath

The lack of postmodernist debates on the chronological and formative limits of modernity has been surprising. Only a few postmodernists, among them Michel Foucault and Jean Baudrillard, have tried to ... More

The lack of postmodernist debates on the chronological and formative limits of modernity has been surprising. Only a few postmodernists, among them Michel Foucault and Jean Baudrillard, have tried to locate chronological limits. That lack has been veiled by the fortuitous agreement among most postmodernists that the Enlightenment must be seen perhaps not as the beginning point but as the ultimate defining moment for modernity and modernism. The long and intense historical controversy about the Enlightenment's exact nature and standing was circumvented. Also, the postmodernist inclination to view modernity as a calamitous era ruled out the moderate view of the Enlightenment as a complex phenomenon that bestowed on the human race remarkable benefits as well as severe problems. Such a view would have favored a “carry-over” into postmodernity of some seemingly beneficent ideas and concepts of modernity. None of postmodernity's versions favored that prospect.Less

Prologue: Writing a Life of William the Conqueror

David Bates

in William the Conqueror

This introductory chapter details the background context behind the making of this book, from the author's motivations and influences to the approaches taken in writing the storied history of William ... More

This introductory chapter details the background context behind the making of this book, from the author's motivations and influences to the approaches taken in writing the storied history of William the Conqueror. As well, the chapter dwells on the issues surrounding such a biography of William the Conqueror—William's life has always been, and will forever remain, a morally difficult subject. It brought about massive changes, but it did so at the expense of thousands of lives and was the cause of much misery. The chapter also sets out the framework for contextualising William's life within the Norman Conquest and the broader history of Europe.Less