Mitchell Daniel Jon
*Institüt for theoretische Teilchenphysik und Kosmologie,Sommerfeldstr. 16, 52074 Aachen,Germany. Email:
Br J Hist Sci. 2018 Sep;51(3):333-368. doi: 10.1017/S0007087418000535.
Academic careers in French science during the mid-nineteenth century were made within the Université de France, an integrated state system of secondary and higher education controlled by a centralized Parisian educational administration. Among the most respected members of the corps universitaire were Charles d'Almeida and Pierre Bertin, two historically obscure physiciens whose significance derives from their substantial contributions to the social organization, teaching and communication of French experimental physics. This two-part comparative biography uses their entwined careers to make a case for the emergence of a discipline of French experimental physics from the corps during the tumultuous politico-cultural transition from the Second Empire to the Third Republic. Of fundamental importance are disciplinary regimes of teaching and inspection within the corps, the foundation of the Société française de physique and the Journal de physique, and the diversification of the traditional pedagogical role of the Ecole normale supérieure, which, from around 1860, began to offer a career pathway for aspiring scientific researchers. Having established in this paper the socio-institutional mechanisms for the stabilization of a distinct field, in part two I characterize the epistemological-methodological aspects of French experimental physics.
19世纪中叶，法国科学界的学术生涯是在法兰西大学中展开的，这是一个由巴黎中央教育管理机构控制的、涵盖中等和高等教育的综合性国家体系。大学教师队伍中最受尊敬的成员包括查尔斯·德阿尔梅达和皮埃尔·贝尔坦，这两位物理学家在历史上并不知名，但其重要性在于他们对法国实验物理学的社会组织、教学和交流做出了重大贡献。这部由两部分组成的比较传记利用他们交织的职业生涯，论证了在从第二帝国到第三共和国的动荡政治文化过渡时期，法国实验物理学学科是如何从教师队伍中脱颖而出的。至关重要的是教师队伍中的教学和检查纪律制度、法国物理学会和《物理杂志》的创立，以及高等师范学校传统教学角色的多样化，从1860年左右开始，高等师范学校为有抱负的科研人员提供了一条职业道路。在本文中确立了稳定一个独特领域的社会制度机制后，在第二部分中，我将描述法国实验物理学的认识论-方法论方面。
