Diderot, Mathematics and the Idea of a Scientific Revolution: Retake of a Recurrent Theme

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

95 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Diderot's relationship with mathematics is controversial, as he progressively denies their explanatory value without fully abandoning its practice. The main interpreters of his epistemology have considered that such a departure results from a formative fragility or a reorientation to the new fields of biology and chemistry. In this paper, differently, we seek to show that the reasons are of a philosophical kind, depending on how the notion of an ongoing scientific revolution determines the need to deactivate the henceforth outdated scientific paradigm and to seek for the epistemological conditions of the alternative that is already operating.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)135-160
Number of pages26
JournalMeta
Volume11
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • Denis Diderot
  • Epistemology of mathematics
  • Scientific revolutions
  • Materialist paradigm
  • Enlightenment

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Diderot, Mathematics and the Idea of a Scientific Revolution: Retake of a Recurrent Theme'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this