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On the Sources of the Historian of Science from the Perspective of a History of Education

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Scientific Sources and Teaching Contexts Throughout History: Problems and Perspectives

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science ((BSPS,volume 301))

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Abstract

The book that these few words conclude aims primarily, as its title makes explicit, at offering clarification on the issue of the relationship between documents that are sources for present-day historians of science and what is often called, for lack of a better expression, a “school context.” This project is most welcome, since it addresses an area in which, undeniably, as I shall emphasize, a great deal of confusion reigns and that this confusion is detrimental to a genuinely historical treatment of our sources.

The book is the outcome of seminars and conferences organized by Alain Bernard and Christine Proust in the last few years. I wish to extend my thanks to the participants, since their questions, their suggestions and their contributions to this book helped me prepare this postface. I am particularly indebted to Bruno Belhoste, Alain Bernard and Christine Proust, with whom I continued conversation beyond these meetings. It is a pleasure to thank Richard Kennedy for his contribution in the preparation of this chapter.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Choppin (2008).

  2. 2.

    C. Proust, in this volume, pp. 69--70, comes to this conclusion with respect to the sources documenting mathematical activities in Mesopotamia.

  3. 3.

    The benefits derived from putting the book in the context of the teaching activities from which it derived were made manifest recently, see (Gilain 1989; Belhoste 1991, 61–86). In his plea for a reassessment of the part played by education in the history of mathematics, (Belhoste 1998) analyzes the theoretical impact of the teaching context on the main features of Cauchy’s contribution.

  4. 4.

    This analysis echoes the one developed in (Issitt 2004, esp. p. 690).

  5. 5.

    For a reflection on the interaction between actors’ contrasted attitudes towards different types of documents and the divergent historical trajectories of writings, see (Bretelle-Establet 2010).

  6. 6.

    Issitt (2004, 692) has interesting remarks on the material management of textbooks in libraries.

  7. 7.

    On the history of the sharing, see (Proust 2007, 40–50).

  8. 8.

    On the nuance I make here, see (Chemla 2010), where I analyze the process of transmission of this anthology.

  9. 9.

    Dhombres (1997, [rev. ed. 2006], XI).

  10. 10.

    In other cases, this kind of generosity is not always overriding. Mathematics in China is equated with what has been handed down. Furthermore, what has been handed down is interpreted and assessed in the same way as schoolbooks. At the end of the day, “civilizations” are “ranked” on that basis. By extension of the disparagement of documents related to educational situations, “civilizations” which have bequeathed to us only texts assessed as being school texts were judged accordingly, as if the extant material allowed a judgment to be passed and as if such judgments were appropriate.

  11. 11.

    See Chapter by Christine Proust, in this book, p. 88.

  12. 12.

    Martzloff (1997 [rev. ed. 2006], 134).

  13. 13.

    See the pioneering collective work in (Taton 1986).

  14. 14.

    See the articles collected in (Bruter 2011). See also the publications mentioned in Christine Proust’s chapter, footnote 3.

  15. 15.

    For the modern time period, see, for instance, (Belhoste 1995). For ancient time periods, see (Siu and Volkov 1999) as well as Volkov, in this volume. This trend had a significant impact on Assyriology, a field in which research on school curricula has brought about quite exciting results, as explained in C. Proust’s chapter.

  16. 16.

    See, for instance, (Gispert et al. 2007).

  17. 17.

    For ancient time periods, see (Volkov 2012), and for modern times (Belhoste 2002).

  18. 18.

    d’Enfert (2003) is an example for that trend of research, which is also evoked in the chapters by F. Bretelle-Establet and S. Lamassé in this volume.

  19. 19.

    Tomic (2011, 65–68).

  20. 20.

    Ehrhardt (2009). The description of Lacroix’s work can be contrasted with the one given by Jean Itard, in his biography of François-Sylvstre Lacroix, published in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 7 (1973), 549–551 (see http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830902420.html, (consulted on May 12, 2013)). The same project animates the various articles gathered in Bruter (2008). See also (Ehrhardt 2011).

  21. 21.

    See, respectively, (Proust 2007) and (Ehrhardt 2008).

  22. 22.

    See (Belhoste 2009, esp. 88–96).

  23. 23.

    See the argument in Chemla (1997a, 2009).

  24. 24.

    Halmos (1967 [rev. ed. 1974, 1982]), vii–x. I quote from the 1982 edition. The emphasis is mine. I can only quote a few words from the preface, but I invite the reader to read it entirely.

  25. 25.

    Let me emphasize that the type of learning meant here is not merely that which occurs in the classroom. It was not intended to be so, and the multiple citations of the book in research publications in the subsequent years establish the fact (Note KC).

  26. 26.

    Interestingly enough, the following paragraph was added in the 1982 edition (Note KC).

  27. 27.

    I rely here on the talk given on March 12, 2007, by June Barrow-Green with the title “The problem-experience in Cambridge: the Mathematical Tripos examination in the 19th century.” This talk was given in the context of workshops REHSEIS had organized on the issue of the variety of the types of problems in mathematical activity.

  28. 28.

    See the chapter by Lamassé, p. 147.

  29. 29.

    See Chapter by S. Lamassé, where it is explained how for Chuquet the mercantile problems he used had lost their practical value, pp. 143--144.

  30. 30.

    This is a conclusion that I have been led to in Chemla (1997a, 2009).

  31. 31.

    Chemla (1997b).

  32. 32.

    Keller (forthcoming).

  33. 33.

    See Bretelle-Establet’s chapter in this book, pp. 292--293.

  34. 34.

    See Bretelle-Establet’s chapter in this book, p. 283.

  35. 35.

    Some examples are outlined in Ehrhardt (2011).

  36. 36.

    I borrow this latter term Irène Rosier-Catach’s and her colleagues’ study of the Glosulae in Priscianum (project Histoire des savoirs, 2003–2007, http://www.cnrs.fr/prg/PIR/programmes-termines/histsavoirs/synth2003-2007Histoiredessavoirs.pdf, 14).

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  1. Laboratoire SPHERE, CNRS & Université Paris Diderot, Case 7093, 5 rue Thomas Mann, 75205, Paris Cedex 13, France

    Karine Chemla

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  1. Karine Chemla
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  1. EHESS-CNRS and UPEC, Centre A. Koyré UMR 8560 and ESPE, Paris, France

    Alain Bernard

  2. Laboratoire SPHERE UMR 7219, Université Paris 7 - CNRS, Paris, France

    Christine Proust

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Chemla, K. (2014). On the Sources of the Historian of Science from the Perspective of a History of Education. In: Bernard, A., Proust, C. (eds) Scientific Sources and Teaching Contexts Throughout History: Problems and Perspectives. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 301. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5122-4_12

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