There was a time, and not so very long ago, when one discussed
science in literary salons. This was the period when Denis
Diderot imagined the mathematician Jean Le Rond D’Alembert in the
transports of a dream in which he existed as matter. Dr. Bordeu
held forth to Mademoiselle de L‘Espinasse about the “various and
prolonged” cross-breeding experiments which might eventually
create a race of“goatmen”: a “vigorous, intelligent, tireless and
fleet-footed race which we could train to be excellent servants”
(Diderot 1976, 231-32). Today, what philosopher would dare write
a fictional story about the delirious dreams of a famous
mathematician? Who would dare to make fun of the matters debated
and regulated by those so-called “ethical committees” on which
one finds legal specialists, ethicists, theologians, and doctors?
Our sciences no longer make us laugh. Any dreams they might
provoke have lost their speculative quality. Whereas D’Alembert
dissolved in an ocean of sensitive mol- ecules, Stephen Hawking
announces in A Brief History of Time (1988) without any levity
the imminent triumph of human reason: the reduction of the
universe to a pure mathematical necessity. No longer do our
speculations explore those limit points where theories lose the
gravitas of their familiar power. Instead, they judge the world
in the name of the power of theory.
Main page
Welcome to the Reading Group 'bookworms'
We meet regularly throughout the year to discuss topics of interest to a broad range of disciplines. We hope to be inspired by the exchange of ideas and experiences.
We usually discuss one article or book chapter each session.
Reading List
We welcome suggestions for readings and encourage you to edit this page
Policy
Our reading group is visible and accessible to invited members only.
Contact
Néhémie Strupler
Freie Universität Berlin
Fachbereichs Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften
Institut für Wissensgeschichte des Altertums
Arnimallee 10
14195 Berlin (Germany)
nehemie.strupler@fu-berlin.de
