Imagery in Science
For the fall, the FRG will explore the
status of imagery in scientific argument. Illustrations,
diagrams, maps, and photographs--these and other visual
forms are ubiquitous in science, yet rarely scrutinized.
This has begun to change, and the fall essays (listed
below) represent an emerging, cross-disciplinary field of
study.
The question of image-based claims to truth runs through
all of the papers, though the authors address that question
from a variety of historical and philosophical
perspectives. We will read "classic" papers, like the
Daston-Galison account of the image of scientific
objectivity, alongside the best articles from a recent
special issue of Isis, the flagship journal of the history of
science.
In order to better focus questions, each of the four
sessions will include short, informal comments from an FRG
participant, who will also moderate our discussions. All
sessions are held in the Library’s Fulford Room, on
selected Fridays, 3pm to 4:30pm. Refreshments provided.
SESSION
ONE
Introduction: Imagery in Scientific
Argument
Friday, September 15, 3pm in the
Library's Fulford Room
M. Norton Wise, "Making Visible" (2006)
Iwan Rhys Morus, "Seeing and Believing
Science"
(2006)
SESSION
TWO
Images of Objectivity in Science
Friday,
October 13, 3pm in the Library's Fulford Room
Lorraine Daston & Peter Galison, "The Image of
Objectivity"
(1992)
SESSION
THREE
Diagrams, Illustrations, and the Claim
to Scientific Truth
Friday,
October 27, 3pm in the Library's Fulford Room
Michael Ruse, "Are Pictures Really Necessary? The Case of
Sewall Wright's 'Adaptive
Landscapes'"
(1996)
SESSION
FOUR
Scientific Images in Social and
Disciplinary Context
Friday,
November 17, 3pm in the Library's Fulford Room
Nick Hopwood,
"Pictures of Evolution and Charges of Fraud:
Ernst Haeckel's Embryological
Illustrations"
(2006)