Uneasy Genius: The Life and Work of Pierre Duhem (Archives internationales d'histoire des idées/International Archives of the History of Ideas) ... internationales d'histoire des idées, 100)

A hundred years have now gone by since in the midsummer of 1882 Pierre Duhem, a graduate of College Stanislas, completed with brilliant success his entrance exams to the Ecole Normale Superieure and embarked on his career as a theoretical physicist. His father, a textile salesman, hoped that Hierre would pursue a career in business, one of the few professional fields where perhaps he would not have succeeded. Not that young Duhem lacked sense for the practical. He could have easily made a name for himself as an artist had he developed professionally his skill to draw portraits and landscapes. His ability to make a point and his readiness to join in a debate, could have earned him fame as a lawyer. A potential actor was in sight when he entertained friends with mimicry. That as a student of physics he entered and stayed first in his class at the Ecole Normale, did not thwart his talents for the life sciences. No less a biologist than Pasteur tried to obtain Duhem for assistant. His command of Greek and Latin would have secured him a career as a classicist. He was a Frenchman, not to be met too often, whose rightful ad­ miration for and mastery of his native tongue, did not prove a barrier to the major modern languages. As one who taught himself the complex art of medieval paleo­ graphy, he could easily have mastered the many auxiliary sciences needed by a consummate historian. Front Matter....Pages I-XII Young Pierre....Pages 1-36 The Normalien....Pages 37-69 Lecturer in Lille....Pages 71-106 In Transit in Rennes....Pages 107-122 Bordeaux: A Road to Paris....Pages 123-170 Bordeaux: Journey’s End....Pages 171-219 In Memoriam....Pages 221-257 Duhem the Physicist....Pages 259-317 Duhem the Philosopher....Pages 319-373 Duhem the Historian....Pages 375-436 Back Matter....Pages 437-472