Abstract
The relationship between intellectual history and the history of science is confused and confusing. Intellectual history is what history of science is trying hard not to be. Intellectual history claims that there is something specific about intellectual activity that calls for a programme of research that is in some important way different to the practice of political, social, economic or even cultural history. History of science, to the contrary, is organised around the claim that there is nothing specific to the sciences that cannot be understood through the common working practices of the historian. Science is a coherent and identifiable subject of study, but not essentially different to any other. These differing attitudes are perplexing since one might assume that the two fields would share a common interest in ideas. In fact, history of science and intellectual history diverge from one another precisely at this shared point of origin of attention to the claims humans have made to hold true accounts of themselves and the world. This divergence is complicated by the fact that it is unwitting. History of science and intellectual history find themselves at odds in consequence of positions held in other debates. If the two projects are to establish more cordial relations they need firstly to clarify their existing hostility.
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© 2006 James Livesey
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Livesey, J. (2006). intellectual history and the history of science. In: Whatmore, R., Young, B. (eds) palgrave advances in intellectual history. Palgrave Advances. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230204300_8
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