Argument and seventeenth-century science: a rhetorical analysis with sociological implications

• Published in: Social studies of science Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 371 - 396
• Main Authors: Gross, A G, Harmon, J E, Reidy, M S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-06-2000
• Subjects: Academic journals; Argumentative discussions; England; Enlightenment; France; History; Science
• ISSN: 0306-3127

Compares the argumentative practices of the English and French scientific communities from the origin of the scientific journal in 1665 up to 1700. To that end, asks a uniform set of questions related to argumentative practice in a large sample of articles randomly drawn from the 3 preeminent scientific journals of this period. The results suggest an interesting link between sociopolitical structures and their influence on early scientific societies, and the articles in their fledgling publications. In particular, the early professionalisation of French science through the Academie Royale led to a heightened emphasis on features familiar in twentieth-century practice: quantification, mathematical and mechanical explanations for acquired facts, visual representations of facts and their explanations, and use of observations and experimental results as stepping stones to theory. (Original abstract - amended)