Biography of a Scientist as a Surmounting of Time

Abstract

The scientist as an individual is a contemporary of particular historical circumstances who perceives social conditions of his time. On the other hand, he or she is part of a scientific community and is involved in a particular scientific discipline. This duality creates a problem of adequacy of the description. To an extent, it generates an uncertainty relation. The more accurately and detailed the description of a scientist’s personal and social life is, the less accurately the essence of his discoveries and his scientific life is conveyed. A biographer’s task is to find the right balance of these two flows that would allow holding the reader’s attention. In practice, the author finds this balance intuitively. In so doing, the biographer surmounts time. Which and whose time? This article answers this question.