Bernard de Fontenelle on Scientific Curiosity

k 2025

Bernard de Fontenelle on Scientific Curiosity

ŠPELDA, Daniel

Základní údaje

Originální název

Bernard de Fontenelle on Scientific Curiosity

Autoři

ŠPELDA, Daniel

Vydání

14th Nordic Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy, Tartu, Estonia, 2025

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Prezentace na konferencích

Obor

60301 Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology

Stát vydavatele

Estonsko

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

URL

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Organizační jednotka

Filozofická fakulta

Klíčová slova anglicky

Bernard de Fontenelle; scientific curiosity; Académie royale des sciences

Změněno: 15. 1. 2026 12:40, Mgr. Kateřina Urubková

Anotace

V originále

My contribution concerns the notion of scientific curiosity in the texts of Bernard de Fontenelle. In the history of philosophy and theology, curiosity has been a label for inquiry that had the ambition to go beyond the limits set to human knowledge. Often curiosity meant the knowledge of things that God has not revealed to humans - or the knowledge of things that are useless to humanity. In the long run, early modern culture saw the rehabilitation of curiosity from a vice to a virtue. In my article, I want to focus on how Bernard de Fontenelle, secretary of the Royal Academy of Sciences, worked with the concept of curiosity. From 1699 on, Fontenelle published volumes of the Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences, which summarized the work of the academics. I argue that in these volumes Fontenelle defended scientific curiosity as a free exploration that need not be justified by immediate utility. He was thus defending natural philosophy/science against positions that considered scientific knowledge of nature to be a vanity (Christian apologetics) and that demanded from scientists legitimazing their activities and their pensions with some sort of utility (state administration). Fontenelle insisted that utility always comes only as an effect of an unrestricted pursuit of understanding nature, which at first sight may appear to be merely an aimless curiosity.

Návaznosti

GA23-05587S, projekt VaV

Název: Filosofická legitimizace vědy v raném osvícenství: Fontenelle a jeho současníci

Investor: Grantová agentura ČR, Filosofická obhajoba vědy v raném osvícenství: Fontenelle a jeho kolegové

Citovat

ŠPELDA, Daniel. Bernard de Fontenelle on Scientific Curiosity. In 14th Nordic Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy, Tartu, Estonia. 2025.

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   author = {Špelda, Daniel},
   booktitle = {14th Nordic Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy, Tartu, Estonia},
   keywords = {Bernard de Fontenelle; scientific curiosity; Académie royale des sciences},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Bernard de Fontenelle on Scientific Curiosity},
   url = {https://filsem.ut.ee/en/content/14th-nordic-workshop-early-modern-philosophy},
   year = {2025}
}

TY  - CONF
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AU  - Špelda, Daniel
PY  - 2025
TI  - Bernard de Fontenelle on Scientific Curiosity
KW  - Bernard de Fontenelle
KW  - scientific curiosity
KW  - Académie royale des sciences
UR  - https://filsem.ut.ee/en/content/14th-nordic-workshop-early-modern-philosophy
N2  - My contribution concerns the notion of scientific curiosity in the texts of Bernard de Fontenelle. In the history of philosophy and theology, curiosity has been a label for inquiry that had the ambition to go beyond the limits set to human knowledge. Often curiosity meant the knowledge of things that God has not revealed to humans - or the knowledge of things that are useless to humanity. In the long run, early modern culture saw the rehabilitation of curiosity from a vice to a virtue. In my article, I want to focus on how Bernard de Fontenelle, secretary of the Royal Academy of Sciences, worked with the concept of curiosity. From 1699 on, Fontenelle published volumes of the Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences, which summarized the work of the academics. I argue that in these volumes Fontenelle defended scientific curiosity as a free exploration that need not be justified by immediate utility. He was thus defending natural philosophy/science against positions that considered scientific knowledge of nature to be a vanity (Christian apologetics) and that demanded from scientists legitimazing their activities and their pensions with some sort of utility (state administration). Fontenelle insisted that utility always comes only as an effect of an unrestricted pursuit of understanding nature, which at first sight may appear to be merely an aimless curiosity.
ER  -

ŠPELDA, Daniel. Bernard de Fontenelle on Scientific Curiosity. In \textit{14th Nordic Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy, Tartu, Estonia}. 2025.

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