Writing the History of the Mind: Philosophy and Science in France, 1900 to 1960s (Science, Technology and Culture, 1700-1945)

For much of the twentieth century, French intellectual life was dominated by theoreticians and historians of mentalite. Traditionally, the study of the mind and of its limits and capabilities was the domain of philosophy, however in the first decades of the twentieth century practitioners of the emergent human and social sciences were increasingly competing with philosophers in this field: ethnologists, sociologists, psychologists and historians of science were all claiming to study 'how people think'. Scholars, including Gaston Bachelard, Georges Canguilhem, Leon Brunschvicg, Lucien Levy-Bruhl, Lucien Febvre, Abel Rey, Alexandre Koyre and Helene Metzger were all investigating the mind historically and participating in shared research projects. Yet, as they have since been appropriated by the different disciplines, literature on their findings has so far failed to recognise the connections between their research and their importance in intellectual history. In this exemplary book, Cristina Chimisso reconstructs the world of these intellectuals and the key debates in the philosophy of mind, particularly between those who studied specific mentalities by employing prevalently historical and philological methods, and those who thought it possible to write a history of the mind, outlining the evolution of ways of thinking that had produced the modern mentality. Dr. Chimisso situates the key French scholars in their historical context and shows how their ideas and agendas were indissolubly linked with their social and institutional positions, such as their political and religious allegiances, their status in academia, and their familial situation.The author employs a vast range of original research, using philosophical and scientific texts as well as archive documents, correspondence and seminar minutes from the period covered, to recreate the milieu in which these relatively neglected scholars made advances in the history of philosophy and science, and produced ideas that would greatly influence later intellectuals such as Foucault, Derrida and Bourdieu. This book will appeal to historians of science and philosophy, particularly Continental philosophy, and those with interest in the history of ideas and the historiography of the disciplines of the social sciences. Contents 6 Series Editor's Introduction 8 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction 12 Historical Reconstructions and Disciplinary Boundaries 12 Writing the History of the Mind: A Set of Projects across Disciplines 14 From the History of Philosophy to the History and Philosophy of Science 16 Academic and Intellectual Spaces 17 Scholars' Social Positions and their Philosophical and Political Ideas 18 Plan of the Work 19 1 The History of Philosophy in the First Decades of the Twentieth Century: The Spaces and the Students 22 The Identity of the History of Philosophy 22 Studying the History of Philosophy in Paris 25 How to Become a Leading Professor of Philosophy: Education and Early Career 29 Professors of the History of Philosophy and their Social Backgrounds 33 Personal Strategies and Institutional Success 38 2 The History of Philosophy in the First Decades of the Twentieth Century: Theory and Objectives 44 Introduction 44 Academic Journals and the Historiography of Philosophy 45 Debates about the Notion of the History of Philosophy 54 The History of Philosophy as Heritage and Genre 64 3 The Meaning and Uses of History: Challenges to the History of Philosophy 70 History as Heritage versus History as Evolution: The Challenge of the Social Sciences 70 The Mind and Mentalities: Lucien Lévy-Bruhl 73 Léon Brunschvicg's History of the Mind 81 Social and Disciplinary Mobility 91 4 Approaches to the History of the Mind: The History of Science between Philosophy and History 96 The Diffuse Presence of the History of Science 96 The Centre international de synthèse 98 Abel Rey between 'Scientism' and Mentalities, and between the Sorbonne and the Centre international de synthèse 104 Aldo Mieli and the Creation of National and International Spaces for the History of Science 111 5 Approaches to the History of the Mind: The History of Science and the History of Thought 120 Hélène Metzger and the History of the Mind 120 Alexandre Koyré and the History of Intellectual Revolutions 134 6 From the Laboratory to the Tribunal: Historical Epistemology 150 Gaston Bachelard and the History of the Scientific Mind 150 Georges Canguilhem between Concepts and the Living Being 163 Conclusion 178 Philosophical Questions across Fluid Disciplinary Boundaries 178 Social and Disciplinary Marginality and Personal Strategies 181 The Writers of History and the Objects of Knowledge 183 Bibliography 186 Index 214 A 214 B 214 C 215 D 216 E 216 F 216 G 216 H 216 I 217 J 217 K 217 L 217 M 218 N 218 O 218 P 218 Q 219 R 219 S 219 T 220 U 220 V 220 W 220 Z 220 Contents......Page 6 Series Editor's Introduction......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Historical Reconstructions and Disciplinary Boundaries......Page 12 Writing the History of the Mind: A Set of Projects across Disciplines......Page 14 From the History of Philosophy to the History and Philosophy of Science......Page 16 Academic and Intellectual Spaces......Page 17 Scholars' Social Positions and their Philosophical and Political Ideas......Page 18 Plan of the Work......Page 19 The Identity of the History of Philosophy......Page 22 Studying the History of Philosophy in Paris......Page 25 How to Become a Leading Professor of Philosophy: Education and Early Career......Page 29 Professors of the History of Philosophy and their Social Backgrounds......Page 33 Personal Strategies and Institutional Success......Page 38 Introduction......Page 44 Academic Journals and the Historiography of Philosophy......Page 45 Debates about the Notion of the History of Philosophy......Page 54 The History of Philosophy as Heritage and Genre......Page 64 History as Heritage versus History as Evolution: The Challenge of the Social Sciences......Page 70 The Mind and Mentalities: Lucien Lévy-Bruhl......Page 73 Léon Brunschvicg's History of the Mind......Page 81 Social and Disciplinary Mobility......Page 91 The Diffuse Presence of the History of Science......Page 96 The Centre international de synthèse......Page 98 Abel Rey between 'Scientism' and Mentalities, and between the Sorbonne and the Centre international de synthèse......Page 104 Aldo Mieli and the Creation of National and International Spaces for the History of Science......Page 111 Hélène Metzger and the History of the Mind......Page 120 Alexandre Koyré and the History of Intellectual Revolutions......Page 134 Gaston Bachelard and the History of the Scientific Mind......Page 150 Georges Canguilhem between Concepts and the Living Being......Page 163 Philosophical Questions across Fluid Disciplinary Boundaries......Page 178 Social and Disciplinary Marginality and Personal Strategies......Page 181 The Writers of History and the Objects of Knowledge......Page 183 Bibliography......Page 186 B......Page 214 C......Page 215 H......Page 216 L......Page 217 P......Page 218 S......Page 219 Z......Page 220 For much of the twentieth century, French intellectual life was dominated by theoreticians and historians of mentalité. Traditionally, the study of the mind and of its limits and capabilities was the domain of philosophy, however in the first decades of the twentieth century practitioners of the emergent human and social sciences were increasingly competing with philosophers in this field: ethnologists, sociologists, psychologists and historians of science were all claiming to study'how people think'. Scholars, including Gaston Bachelard, Georges Canguilhem, Léon Brunschvicg, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, Lucien Febvre, Abel Rey, Alexandre Koyré and Hélène Metzger were all investigating the mind historically and participating in shared research projects. Yet, as they have since been appropriated by the different disciplines, literature on their findings has so far failed to recognise the connections between their research and their importance in intellectual history. In this exemplary book, Cristina Chimisso reconstructs the world of these intellectuals and the key debates in the philosophy of mind, particularly between those who studied specific mentalities by employing prevalently historical and philological methods, and those who thought it possible to write a history of the mind, outlining the evolution of ways of thinking that had produced the modern mentality. Dr Chimisso situates the key French scholars in their historical context and shows how their ideas and agendas were indissolubly linked with their social and institutional positions, such as their political and religious allegiances, their status in academia, and their familial situation. The author employs a vast range of original research, using philosophical and scientific texts as well as archive documents, correspondence and seminar minutes from the period covered, to recreate the milieu in which these relatively neglected scholars made advances in the history of philosophy and science, and produced For much of the twentieth century, French intellectual life was dominated by theoreticians and historians of mentalité. Traditionally, the study of the mind and of its limits and capabilities was the domain of philosophy, however in the first decades of the twentieth century practitioners of the emergent human and social sciences were increasingly competing with philosophers in this field: ethnologists, sociologists, psychologists and historians of science were all claiming to study 'how people think'. Scholars, including Gaston Bachelard, Georges Canguilhem, Léon Brunschvicg, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, Lucien Febvre, Abel Rey, Alexandre Koyré and Hélène Metzger were all investigating the mind historically and participating in shared research projects. Yet, as they have since been appropriated by the different disciplines, literature on their findings has so far failed to recognise the connections between their research and their importance in intellectual history. In this exemplary book, Cristina Chimisso reconstructs the world of these intellectuals and the key debates in the philosophy of mind, particularly between those who studied specific mentalities by employing prevalently historical and philological methods, and those who thought it possible to write a history of the mind, outlining the evolution of ways of thinking that had produced the modern mentality. Dr Chimisso situates the key French scholars in their historical context and shows how their ideas and agendas were indissolubly linked with their social and institutional positions, such as their political and religious allegiances, their status in academia, and their familial situation. The author employs a vast range of original research, using philosophical and scientific texts as well as archive documents, correspondence and seminar minutes from the period covered, to recreate the milieu in .. "For much of the twentieth century, French intellectual life was dominated by theoreticians and historians of mentalite. Traditionally, the study of the mind and of its limits and capabilities was the domain of philosophy, however in the first decades of the twentieth century practitioners of the emergent human and social sciences were increasingly competing with philosophers in this field: ethnologists, sociologists, psychologists and historians of science were all claiming to study 'how people think'." "In this book, Cristina Chimisso reconstructs the world of these intellectuals and the key debates in the philosophy of mind, particularly between those who studied specific mentalities by employing prevalently historical and philological methods, and those who thought it possible to write a history of the mind, outlining the evolution of ways of thinking that had produced the modern mentality. Dr. Chimisso situates the key French scholars in their historical context and shows how their ideas and agendas were indissolubly linked with their social and institutional positions, such as their political and religious allegiances, their status in academia, and their familial situation."--BOOK JACKET For much of the twentieth century, French intellectual life was dominated by theoreticians and historians of mentalité. Cristina Chimisso reconstructs the world of these intellectuals and presents the key debates in the philosophy of mind of this time, and the social and institutional context in which these ideas were formulated. This profound study will be invaluable for scholars studying the history and historiography of science and philosophy