Professor Stephen Gaukroger, Visiting Professorial Fellow (December 2004 to June 2005)
Professor of History of Philosophy and History of Science/ARC Professorial Fellow at the University of Sydney, Stephen Gaukroger's field of interest involves the shaping of cognitive values around scientific ones and radical effects of the Scientific Revolution in the West. His project while at the School looked at the particular legitimatory problems that natural philosophy/science faced in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Professor Gaukroger has already advanced in his project. He has so far examined the shaping of the character or persona of the natural philosopher in the 17th century England, France and Italy. He has also explored how the notion of objectivity, as freedom from prejudice or pre-conceived ideas, replaces that of the search for essential underlying truths, especially in English natural philosophy. Finally he has also analysed the natural-historical model for natural philosophy, the hydrostatic versus kinematic models for dynamics and the complex questions involving the possibilities of 'mathematicizing' natural philosophy.
During the tenure of the Fellowship, Professor Gaukroger will be working on material for two books: “The Office of the Philosopher: the persona of the philosopher in the early modern era” & “The Emergence of a Scientific Culture in the West: Science and Shaping of Modernity”.
Professor Gaukroger gave a seminar in the Dean's Seminar on January 19th 2005 'Intellectual morality and natural philosophy: classical and early modern conceptions'. Please click here for a transcript of his paper.
He also gave a lecture on February 23rd 2005 . 'The success of science in the West: what is wrong with the Enlightenment interpretation’.
