Rival institutions: politics, religion, and the jam ʿiyyāt in mid-nineteenth-century Beirut

"A Principle of Authority. . . Must Always Occur" Thomas Bender (bio) The complex conversation about whales that Graham Burnett so eloquently and amusingly and insightfully explains came at a particularly complex moment in the social and intellectual history of New York and, indeed, the nation as a whole. Whether the topic was whales or just about anything else, an emerging faith in individual judgment—itself a product of both social change and a good deal of democratic rhetoric—posed a large question: Whose voice can claim authority? Maurice v. Judd occurred at the front end of a quest for forms of cultural authority compatible with political democracy and a vocal (but not actual) commitment to equality of persons. The issue was defined by Alexis de Tocqueville. When he arrived in New York in 1831, the challenge that a pluralistic, outspoken democracy posed to intellectual life and public ethics immediately captured his interest and prompted his reflections. A principle of authority must . . . always occur, under all circumstances, in some part or other of the moral and intellectual world. Its place is variable, but a place it necessarily has . . . . Thus the question is not to know whether any intellectual authority exists in an age of democracy, but simply by what standard it is to be measured.1 Click for larger view View full resolution From William W. Campbell, The Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton (New York, 1849). In the trial of 1818 we can see the first confused efforts to identify that location. In the years that followed the trial, the era of so-called Jacksonian Democracy, artists, literary gentlemen, and scientists had to identify the location of authority, or better, find a way of locating it in their own hands. This quest played itself out over the next several decades. Samuel Latham Mitchill and other scientists were awkwardly feeling their way toward a rudimentary pattern of the cultural authority we live with today. They were anxious to avoid two forms of authority: "patrician" authority on the one hand, and democracy on the other. The increasingly self-conscious scientists, writers, and artists of the city rejected the aristocratic claims of the presumptive patriciate, represented by the the New York Institution of Scientific and Learned Societies, established in 1815 on the initiative of Mayor DeWitt Clinton. Intended to represent the city's commitment to intellect, the building's pretense was undermined by the knowledge that it was not originally built for science and learning. Rather it was the old Alms House situated behind City Hall, something noted by the poet Fitz Greene Halleck in a poem of 1819: . . . It remainsTo bless the hour the Corporation took itInto Their heads to give the rich in brains,The worn out mansion of the poor in pocket.2 This jest suggested, among other things, the weakened claim of the old patriciate's general authority across the domains of politics, economy, and culture in this period of emergent democracy. For our purposes DeWitt Clinton, who at various times was both mayor of the city and governor of the state, can serve as the representative patrician. New York is much indebted to him. As governor he undertook the construction of the Erie [End Page 20] Canal, probably the most important public investment ever made by New York. It literally made New York the "emporium" of the New World, to use Clinton's word. Clinton presumed that his elite standing gave him authority in all areas of public concern. He articulated this in a celebration of himself that he published anonymously: Mr. Clinton, amidst his other great qualifications, is distinguished for a marked devotion to science: few men have read more, and few men can claim more various and extensive knowledge . . . . It was natural that such men should have high rank in literary institutions; and he was accordingly elected first President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York.3 For whatever reasons—modesty was not one of them—he did not in this instance list other honors, including the presidency of the American Academy of Fine Arts or his establishment of the New York Institution of Learned and Scientific Societies. Clinton was also a...

There is little research on the content of research integrity (RI)–related guidance provided by pan-European discipline-specific learned societies, or how this guidance compares with recommendations made in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (ALLEA code). Therefore, we aimed to (1) assess the availability of RI guidance from these learned societies, (2) compare learned societies’ guidance with the ALLEA code, and (3) explore similarities and differences in guidance between learned societies of different disciplines. Using a scoping review, we identified 245 learned societies, from which we identified and conducted a content analysis of fifty-eight guideline documents, developed by forty-six of these learned societies. Less than 25 per cent of learned societies in any discipline provide guidance, and there are notable disciplinary differences. Recommendations made by learned societies, which are not reflected in the ALLEA code, relate primarily to research culture and environment. Medical and Health Sciences societies often focus on regulatory and procedural aspects of research, whereas Natural Sciences societies emphasize the importance of accurate and appropriate dissemination of results. Humanities and Social Sciences societies’ recommendations are more heterogeneous and closely related to the nature of specific subdisciplines. Our results reflect differences in epistemological approaches as well as the specific roles and responsibilities of learned societies. We recommend that learned societies develop, or endorse, appropriate RI guidance.

In recent months there has been an intensifying debate surrounding the scientific publishing industry, focusing on the important questions of who pays and who benefits, and who has access. In the UK, the debate has been particularly energetic, with many articles and letters in the press, discussion within funding agencies, culminating recently in the recommendations to the Government contained within the Finch report [1]. Other events that are helping to shape the discussion include the decision by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max-Planck Society and the Wellcome Foundation to collaboratively start their own open access journal [2] (the first example of major funding agencies owning their own scientific journal), and the worldwide boycott of Elsevier journals by more than 12,000 authors and reviewers [3].

During the pre-independence years, many scientific societies were set up. Their mandate was to promote and popularise science education, research, and communication. The present paper intends to study different scholarly societies which came up in India from 1900 to 1947 and earlier; the parameters of their objectives, extension activities, publications and achievements will be used to study the scholarly societies. The objectives of the study are to highlight the scholarly societies which were set up from 1784 to 1914, their contributions to the Swadeshi Science Movement, activities for promoting science education and research in the country and the scope of their publications and their coverage in citation databases. The study showcases the significant contributions of scholarly societies in promoting science education and research in the country. The study validates that the scholarly societies laid a robust foundation for the country's present scientific institutions and science education.

This paper constructs the intellectual histories of learned societies in Ghana to illuminate African agency in pursuing knowledge production and dissemination. Academics and politicians founded some of Africa’s first scientific societies in Ghana. Previous scholarship on scientific research and higher education in Africa has overlooked the role of disciplines-based learned societies and national academies. This paper contributes to that literature using a historical comparative approach to construct the histories of learned societies that emerged during the colonial and postcolonial periods to understand how such scientific associations contributed to research productivity. I advance two arguments based on case studies of three scientific societies. First, there is linearity in the evolution of learned societies. Second, the institutionalization of scientific communities along interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lines provided flexibility and enabled learned associations to contribute relevant knowledge to the “developmental state” that the political leaders were constructing.

"Leith, Robert Fraser Calder, (22 June 1854–14 Dec. 1936), Emeritus Professor of Pathology and Bacteriology, University of Birmingham; member of many scientific and learned societies" published on by Oxford University Press.

Report from the Working Group of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan for the investigation of fraud in research papers

Phenomenology enjoys striking popularity in Eastern Europe. For those concerned with phenomenology before the collapse of communism it was an antidote to Marxism in its Soviet version. Its popularity was due to the perhaps naive striving for a true philosophy not manipulated by politics, in that its idealism was interpreted as a protest against the materialistic degradation of the human being. What would Husserl say if he was told about this role of phenomenology? Perhaps he would it consider it as self-evident. His allegedly completely apolitical philosophy had political ambitions, since the struggle for phenomenology was for him not merely a philosophical discussion, but a political struggle with pragmatists, advocates of Realpolitik, nationalists and traditionalists. This paper analyses phenomenology as a radical social philosophy which aimed at the revolutionary renewal of European culture. Well-known for his inclination to work on details and for an arduous theoretical analysis, Husserl was not an advocate of small steps in politics. His political philosophy is then contrasted with that of Helmuth Plessner. From Plessner's point of view Husserl's programme can be seen as a manifestation of the striving for the abolition of society and its replacement by community. In his defence of society, Plessner developed a philosophy of the public sphere as a sphere of social roles, prestige ceremonial, tact and diplomacy, in which the absolute character of the Ego is negated in contact with others. The paper poses questions such as which of these philosophies is more adequate for our time and whether the way shown by Husserl in his programmatic writings is still open to us today.

SP0129 A PATIENT”S VIEW ON PATIENT INVOLVEMENT

"The Pursuit of Knowledge in the Early American Republic: American Scientific and Learned Societies from Colonial Times to the Civil War, edited by Alexandra Oleson and Sanborn C. Brown, Baltimore." Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 13(3), pp. 51–52

American Science - The Pursuit of Knowledge in the Early American Republic: American Scientific and Learned Societies from Colonial Times to the Civil War. Ed. by Alexandra Oleson and Sanborn C. Brown. Baltimore & London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976. Pp. xxv + 372. £11.55. - Volume 11 Issue 1

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsThe Pursuit of Knowledge in the Early American Republic: American Scientific and Learned Societies from Colonial Times to the Civil War. Alexandra Oleson , Sanborn C. Brown Eric H. ChristiansonEric H. Christianson Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 68, Number 2Jun., 1977 Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/351783 Views: 3Total views on this site Copyright 1977 History of Science Society, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsThe Pursuit of Knowledge in the Early American Republic: American Scientific and Learned Societies from Colonial Times to the Civil War. Alexandra Oleson , Sanborn C. Brown Donald deB. BeaverDonald deB. Beaver Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 83, Number 6May, 1978 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/226727 Views: 1Total views on this site Copyright 1978 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

As conference cancellations cut revenue, some scholarly organizations are fighting to stay afloat. As conference cancellations cut revenue, some scholarly organizations are fighting to stay afloat.

Examination of the scientific society movement in the developed world shows the predominance of three key constructs that account for their effectiveness and dynamism – civic activism by the scientific community, pursuit of scholarship through science communication, and entrepreneurship. Some examples of these learned societies in different regions of the world are explored with a view towards identifying some best practices. It is shown that leveraging on the brick-and-mortar model for the establishing of scientific academies and scientific societies is not a particularly prudent option for countries in the developing world. The “invisible college” model represents a more effective model for the setting up of such learned societies in the shortest possible time. It is argued that the institutional framework provided by scientific academies and scientific societies affords immense scope for realizing the multidimensional facets of science communication in tandem with other efforts.