Giovanelli, Marco (2024) Variability and Substantiality. Kurd Lasswitz, the Marburg School and the Neo-Kantian Historiography of Science.
This is the latest version of this item.
|
Text
LasswitzExpanded.pdf Download (423kB) | Preview |
Abstract
A trained physicist, Kurd Lasswitz (1848-1910) is best known as a novelist, the father of modern German science fiction, or as a historian of science, the initiator of the modern historiography of atomism. In the late 19th century, Lasswitz engaged in an intense dialogue with the emerging Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, contributing to shape most of its defining tenets. By the end of the decade, this research had grown into a two-volume Geschichte der Atomistik (1890), which remains the most successful example of neo-Kantian historiography of science. Lasswitz combined attention to historical detail with the search for the intellectual tools (Denkmittel) without which the 'fact of science' would be impossible. In particular, Lasswitz regarded Huygens' kinetic atomism as a historical model of a successful scientific theory, shaped by the interplay of two conceptual tools: (a) substantiality, the requirement of identity of the subject of motion through time, which found its scientific expression in the extensive atom; (b) variability, the intensive tendency to continue in an instant, which found its conceptual fixation in the notion of differential. By raising the problem of individuality in physics, Lasswitz offers a unique perspective on the utilization of the history of science in 19th century neo-Kantian thought.
| Export/Citation: | EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL |
| Social Networking: |
| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators: |
|
||||||
| Keywords: | Kurd Lasswitz; Ernst Cassirer; Marburg School; relativized a priori; individuality in physics | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics |
||||||
| Depositing User: | Dr. Marco Giovanelli | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 12 Nov 2024 13:17 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 12 Nov 2024 13:17 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 24196 | ||||||
| Official URL: | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/... | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.1016/j.shpsa.2024.06.008 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics |
||||||
| Date: | 2024 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24196 |
Available Versions of this Item
-
Variability and Substantiality. Kurd Lasswitz, the Marburg School and the Neo-Kantian Historiography of Science. (deposited 02 Sep 2023 23:35)
- Variability and Substantiality. Kurd Lasswitz, the Marburg School and the Neo-Kantian Historiography of Science. (deposited 12 Nov 2024 13:17) [Currently Displayed]
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Altmetric.com
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}