A New Organon. Science Studies in Poland between the Wars
20. February 2015
Workshop
The workshop will discuss the works of the “science of science” working group Koło Naukoznawcze, which met from 1928 onwards on a regular basis to debate recommendations for the advancement of (Polish) science and the academic system.
Sociologists, philosophers, literary critics and scientists published their papers every year until 1939 in the journal Nauka Polska. Jej potrzeby, organizacja i rozwój (i.e. Polish Science. Its Requirements, Organization and Development) that from 1936 onwards was accompanied by an international sister publication named Organon. Objects of interest were “scientific creativity” (Antoni B. Dobrowolski), the idea to establish a socio-psychological “science of knowledge” (Florian Znaniecki), or the practical application of a “science of science” to society (Maria Ossowska und Stanisław Ossowski).
Unlike the works of Ludwik Fleck which had been benevolently reviewed by Jan Dembowski in Nauka Polska, most of these papers – maybe except those of Znaniecki – seem to have fallen into oblivion, even though some of their considerations about science studies and the organization of science (in a broad sense) have been taken up amongst others by John Desmond Bernal and Robert K. Merton.
The aim of the workshop is to reconstruct the forgotten history of this Warsaw based sociology of knowledge and science from the interwar period and to subsequently publish an English edition of pivotal articles with detailed comments. A volume containing the translated original texts as well as contextualising essays will be published in the new book series Historische Wissensforschung (Studies in the History of Knowledge).
Fri–Sat, 20–21 February 2015
Kulturwissenschaftliches Kolleg Konstanz (Bischofsvilla), Otto-Adam-Str. 5, Konstanz
Organisation
Friedrich Cain friedrich.cain[at]uni-konstanz.de
Bernhard Kleeberg bernhard.kleeberg[at]uni-konstanz.de
- Files:
Program_New_Organon.pdf194 Ki