Sargent, Rose-Mary (2002) Robert Boyle and the Masculine Methods of Science. [Preprint]
Abstract
In her recent case study, Elizabeth Potter attempts to show how Boyle�s experimental method was biased by gender considerations. Part of her argument focuses on the combination of the "invisibility" of women in Boyle�s published work together with his unpublished comments on female chastity, and part concerns Boyle�s rejection of the animistic explanation of his air pump experiments by Francis Line. I argue that the historical and biographical elements of the case make Potter�s arguments questionable. In addition, I address whether and how such historical cases can shed light on current debates about gender issues and argue that Boyle�s methodological writings could be used to better advantage in the feminist cause.
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