The sociological dimension of science is studied using the discovery of the Wasserman reaction and its accidental application as a test for syphilis as a basis, ...

Dans cet article écrit dès son retour de déportation le grand philosophe et historien de la médecine polonais d’origine juive Ludwik Fleck se sert de la « rare opportunité » que lui a offerte l’observation de travaux sur le typhus menés à Buchenwald pour tirer des conclusions épistémologiques. Il le fait à travers un dialogue entre Simplicius, qui défend une vision de la science proche de celles du cercle de Vienne, et Sympathius, son propre représentant, qui souligne la dimension sociale (...) de l’activité scientifique, en des termes qui annoncent à bien des égards ceux de Thomas Kuhn.In this paper written just after he came back from deportation, Ludwik Fleck , the great polish philosopher and historian of medicine of Jewish descent, takes advantage of the « rare opportunity » he had of observing the research on typhus undertaken in Buchenwald to draw some epistemological conclusions. He does so through a dialogue between Simplicius, who defends a conception of science close to that of the Vienna circle, and Sympathius, his spokesperson, who underlines the social dimension of scientific activity in terms which in many respects herald those of Thomas Kuhn. (shrink)

Those who criticize the theory of thought-styles do admit their existence, but would rather see them as an obstacle to an “objective” perception, a kind of malum necessarium to be eliminated. Through an analysis of the example of serology it is, however, possible to demonstrate that the specific sociological structure of the community of serologists and the history of this discipline are intrinsically connected with a particular serological thought-style, and that the very content of scientific knowledge in this discipline stems (...) from its thought-style. It is impossible even to imagine a styleless scientific knowledge. (shrink)