“Gestalts” of Ludwik Fleck

Paweł JarnickiLudwik Fleck Zentrum

(Collegium Helveticum at ETHZ)

On the reception of Fleck’s philosophy in

English(preparatory work)

EASST 17-19.09.2014, Toruń

The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 33, No. 17/18 (Aug. 13-27, 1936)

An important contribution to the history, psychology and sociology of scientific thinking which should be of great interest to biologists generally. By way of an analysis of the history of the syphilis concept and of the origin and gradual perfection of the Wassermann reaction the author shows that all scientific thought and discovery is rooted in the style of thinking which is dominant at the time, and that all important discoveries are the product of collective thinking and of collective analysis. The significance of the individual is not underestimated, but, historically speaking, the accumulation of facts as well as the shaping of scientific theories is brought about by team work and by the qualities of the team rather than of the individuals composing it. The work of the individual investigator is limited to a greater or lesser extent by the “style of thought” of his period.

Target audience of Fleck’s texts?

The collective of philosophers

of science

Hans Reichenbach•proponent of logical empiricism•Emigrated from Germany in 1933 (to Turkey)

•before his emigration to USA (1938) used to write in German

•Experience and Prediction (1938) – first book written in English

Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chicago 1962, s. vi-vii

„That is the sort of random exploration that the Society of Fellows permits, and only through it could I have encountered Ludwik Fleck’s almost unknown monograph, Entstehung und Entwicklung einer wissenschaftlichen Tatsache (Basel, 1935); an essay that anticipates many of my own ideas. Together with a remark from another Junior Fellow, Francis X. Sutton, Flecks work made me realize that those ideas might require to be set in the sociology of the scientific community”.

1935Fleck’s German

book

1938Reichenbach’s

footnote

1960Fleck’s

unpublished paper

1962Kuhn’s

introduction to Structure

1966Baldamuspapers 1977

1979American edition

of the book

Ludwig Fleck and the Development of the Sociology of Science

The Role of Discoveries in Social Sciences

Reviews of American edition

• There are at least 18 longer or shorter reviews (1979-1986)

• In sociological (4), on history of science (4), medical/biological (3), scientific (3) and other (6) journals.

• Most of them are quite enthusiastic

from the reviews of American translation

• remarkable little book• fascinating case study • work of transparent brilliance• the work of so remarkable a philosophical pioneer• foreshadowed much of the present-day sociology of scientific knowledge•forgotten masterpiece

from the reviews of American translation

• is certainly not without flaws• often disorganized text• a very difficult book to read. It is not well written

• a flawed book; it is poorly organized and repetitious. Its empirical materials are a messy jumble

• a stimulating and irritating book, abounding in original insights, glaring mistakes, and boring repetitions

from the reviews of American translation

• Fleck is less systematic in the presentation of his theory than Kuhn

• a vastly more profound and provocative volume than Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions

• All of these reviews are at least at small part on Kuhn

1981Fleck’s paper

1986Cohen & Schnelle

volume

1990Loewy’svolume

Have these texts/volumes found a proper recognition?

The situation after edition of Cognition and Fact volume (1986)

•approximately 170 papers in English

•Where do people writing on Fleck come from?

•How many texts of Fleck are they citing?

Who is writing on Fleck in English?

•Poland •German speaking countries•English speaking countries•others

Poland% of all papers in English

9,4% (16)

works citing only the book

3

% of all works citing only the book

1,7%

concentration of works citing only the book

18%

works citing 3 or more texts

3

% of all works citing 3 or more texts

1,7%

concentration of works citing 3 or more texts

18%

English speaking countries

% of all papers in English

31,7% (54)

works citing only the book

38

% of all works citing only the book

22%

concentration of works citing only the book

70,3%

works citing 3 or more texts

12

% of all works citing 3 or more texts

7%

concentration of works citing 3 or more texts

22,2%

German speaking countries

% of all papers in English

24,7% (42)

works citing only the book

15

% of all works citing only the book

8,8%

concentration of works citing only the book

35,7%

works citing 3 or more texts

19

% of all works citing 3 or more texts

11,1%

concentration of works citing 3 or more texts

45,2%

others% of all papers in English

34,1% (58)

works citing only the book

15

% of all works citing only the book

8,8%

concentration of works citing only the book

25,8%

works citing 3 or more texts

32

% of all works citing 3 or more texts

18,8%

concentration of works citing 3 or more texts

55,1%

English…

German… Poland others

% of all papers in English

31,7% (54)

24,7% (42)

9,4% (16)

34,1% (58)

concentration of works citing only the book

70,3% 35,7% 18% 25,8%

concentration of works citing 3 or more texts

22,2% 45,2% 18% 55,1%

‘directed perception’ – directed reception

• The reception in English speaking countries is concentrated on the book only

• Fleck is compared to Kuhn continously• thought style is to paradigm• thought collective to community etc.

• Fleck „should rather inspire or provoke further investigations” but the tools that he used are out of date

• ‘proto-ideas’ – studies on concept formation

• theory of meaning presented by Fleck – studies of language in science

• ‘passive/active couplings’

seeing of

Gestalt

observation

source domain

target domain

forming of Gestal

t

discovery

source domain

target domain

perception of Gestalt

source domain

target domain

style of

thinking

Thank you for your attention

•www.ludwikfleck.pl•https://www.facebook.com/LudwikFlecksPhilosophicalWorks•pawel.jarnicki@projekt-nauka.com

This work is supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under Grant number DEC-2012/06/M/HS2/00313 and participation in the conference is supported by Collegium Helveticum at ETHZ