William Whewell’s Reviews

1. Maria G. Mandourari

2. William Whewell (24 May 1794 – 6 March 1866) was
an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest,
philosopher, theologian, and historian of science

3.  Studied the history of science
 Observed Peirce*
 Critically reassess existing philosophies of
knowledge in the light of scientific
development
“[..] a survey of the present state of knowledge,
in order to learn from it the best method of
philosophizing"
* Charles Sanders Peirce (September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American
philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist, sometimes known as "the father of
pragmatism"

4. Unique in two
important respects:
A. Genuinely questioned
philosophy in the light of
science, as noted by Peirce
B. Made them fundamental to
his vocation

5.  Metascientific commentaries in review articles
between 1831 – 1834
 Reports to the British Association
 Significant in the establishment as an authoritative
scientific critic
 One of the leading scientific writers of the day
 ‘Science’
scientific community public

6. Reviews of Hershel, Lyell & Jones
Put his views on science in a public forum
beyond the scientific and university
communities

7.  Differences between Mill,
Herschel and Whewell on
epistemology
 Whewell: progress had been
made since the early 1830’s,
when even the basic terms
employed in the discussion of
scientific method were insecure