Shermer Michael B
Soc Stud Sci. 2002 Aug;32(4):489-524. doi: 10.1177/0306312702032004001.
Science historian Ronald Numbers once remarked that the two most influential historians of science of the 20th century were Thomas Kuhn and Stephen Jay Gould. All historians are deeply familiar with Kuhn's work and influence, and most know of the remarkable impact Gould has had on evolutionary theory through both his professional and popular works. But little attention has been paid to the depth, scope, and importance of Gould's rôle as historian and philosopher of science, and his use of popular science exposition to reinforce old knowledge and generate new. This paper presents the results of an extensive quantitative content analysis of Gould's 22 books, 101 book reviews, 479 scientific papers, and 300 Natural History essays, in terms of their subject matter (Evolutionary Theory, History and Philosophy of Science, Natural History, Paleontology/Geology, Social Science/Commentary), and thematic dichotomies (Theory-Data, Time's Arrow-Time's Cycle, Adaptationism- Nonadaptationalism, Punctuationism-Gradualism, Contingency-Necessity). Special emphasis is placed on the interaction between the subjects and themata, how Gould has used the history of science to reinforce his evolutionary theory (and vice versa), and how his philosophy of science has influenced both his evolutionary theory and his historiography. That philosophy can best be summed up in a quotation from Charles Darwin, frequently cited by Gould: 'All observation must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service'. Gould followed Darwin's advice throughout his career, including his extensive writings on the history and philosophy of science.
科学史学家罗纳德·纳umbers曾指出，20世纪最具影响力的两位科学史学家是托马斯·库恩和斯蒂芬·杰·古尔德。所有史学家都对库恩的作品和影响了如指掌，大多数人也知道古尔德通过其专业著作和通俗作品对进化论产生的显著影响。但是，很少有人关注古尔德作为科学史学家和哲学家的角色的深度、广度和重要性，以及他如何利用科普阐述来巩固旧知识并产生新的知识。本文展示了对古尔德的22部著作、101篇书评、479篇科学论文和300篇《自然历史》随笔进行广泛定量内容分析的结果，分析内容涉及它们的主题（进化论、科学史与科学哲学、自然历史、古生物学/地质学、社会科学/评论）以及主题二分法（理论-数据、时间之箭-时间之循环、适应主义-非适应主义、间断平衡论-渐变论、偶然性-必然性）。特别强调了主题与主题二分法之间的相互作用，古尔德如何利用科学史来强化他的进化论（反之亦然），以及他的科学哲学如何影响了他的进化论和他的编史学。这种哲学可以最好地用查尔斯·达尔文的一句被古尔德经常引用的话来概括：“所有观察如果要有用处，必须支持或反对某种观点”。古尔德在其整个职业生涯中都遵循了达尔文的建议，包括他在科学史与科学哲学方面的大量著作。
