History Of Science Research Articles

How to Study Virtual Entities Historically? A Proposal

Abstract This paper will not present a case study of the historical development of a virtual entity. Rather, I will develop an outlook on virtual entities in the sciences and propose a corresponding method for studying them (historically). In essence, my presentation can be considered a synthesis of different observations from the history and philosophy of science and has its roots in my dissertational research on the development of the virtual particle. Starting with a reflection on the role of presentism for the study of concept formation and development processes, I will show, through the example of the virtual particle, how current debates and interpretations can inform our access to a historical reconstruction. Following these reflections, I will argue for a pragmatist account of concepts as tools for the scientific practitioners. According to the approach presented in my article, concepts perform their functions through representations, and I will lay special focus on verbal representations and their different functions within scientific reasoning. In conclusion, I will frame the outcome of my discussion in terms of a proposal that might, through further research, enrich our understanding of virtual entities in the sciences.

Brief history of semiconductor science and technology and India’s role in the decade after the invention of transistor

Brief history of semiconductor science and technology and India’s role in the decade after the invention of transistor

Materials on the History of the Orthodox Church in Siberia and the Far East in 1986

The article provides various statistical data on the history of Orthodoxy in Siberia and the Far East in 1986. The information presented in the documents of the State Archive of the Russian Federation (SARF) is interesting from the point of view of Orthodox history. On the one hand, this is a time of perestroika and glasnost, when information on religious teachings, among other things, was widely covered; on the other hand, not all statistics on religious processes were reflected in available scientific publications. The research is based on the fundamental principles of historical science (objectivity and historicism), general scientific and special scientific methods of cognition. We draw a conclusion that the documents in question are the richest statistical source on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROCh) in Siberia and the Far East. The analyzed statistics complement the information available today. The data presented indicate the uneven development of Orthodoxy in different regions at the time under consideration. In some subjects of the RSFSR in Siberia and the Far East, there were quite a lot of active religious buildings of the Orthodox Church and clergy, in some there were few of them. From our point of view, this is due to the presence or absence of diocesan leadership in the regions, the number of the population, and the peculiarities of the development of Orthodox religiosity in the Soviet post-war period. The importance of further work with sources within the subject field of the study is noted. We focus on the necessity of comparative research in order to reconstruct the most comprehensive history of Orthodoxy in Siberia and the Far East.

Orthodox Monasteries as Centers of Christian Civilization on the Eastern Borders of the Russian State

The study is devoted to the history and activities of monastic monasteries in Siberia, their importance in the context of the integration of Siberian territories into the Russian statehood, due to the duration of the processes of Christianization: from the creation of a church administrative unit in Siberia (1620) and completion at the beginning of the twentieth century. The research involved complex and communicative approaches, axiological aspects and methodology of local history, involving the reconstruction of a regional historical narrative. It is noted that the establishment of monastic monasteries has become an important factor in the spread of Russian statehood. The ways of creating monasteries related to both monastic and public initiatives, as well as by decision of the diocesan authorities, are considered. We pay attention to the scientific discourse of modern historical science on the issues of dating the establishment of monastic monasteries and an individual research approach. The contribution of monasteries to the economic development of territories is determined, the main directions of social and educational activities of monastics are indicated. We consider the role of the women’s Orthodox communities of Siberia in the second half of the XIX century, contributing to the strengthening of the ideological basis of the empire, influencing the formation of moral and value attitudes and improving the educational level of local ethnic groups. The special role of monasteries in the history of the region is justified, due to the territorial and climatic conditions, the multi-confessional and multilingual nature of Siberia, when a few monks performed various functions, engaged in missionary, socio-educational and educational activities. We draw a conclusion that Orthodox monasteries in Siberia were outposts of the spread and establishment of Christian civilization, monasteries provided communication with the non-ethnic population, involving them in the Orthodox mentality, forming a vector of the socio-cultural topos of the peoples of Siberia.

The Narrative of Parthenius (Ageev) on the Accession of the Kyrgyz Steppe to Russia: from the History of Christianization of Central Asian Peoples

In the context of studying the history of the Orthodox presence of Russia in Central Asia and Western China, we have analyzed the well-known narrative source – the note of schema-abbot Parthenius (Aggeyev 1806–1878) “First news of the Russians in Ghulja” from the point of view of its objectivity and correspondence to the historical events of the 3rd quarter of the XIXth century, associated with the annexation of Central Asian territories to the Russian Empire, such as the establishment of Russian consulates in Kuldzha and Chuguchak (1851), the fate of Russian trading posts during the Dungan uprising (1850s – 1860s), the Kuldzha campaign of General G. A. Kolpakovsky and the annexation of the Kuldzha region to the Turkestan General Government (1871), the first stages of negotiations on its return to China (1870s). We pay particular attention to the main plot of Parthenius’s narrative – the Orthodox Christianization of the Central Asian peoples who accepted Russian citizenship. The methodological basis was the methods of historical science (chronological, comparative, content analysis, etc.) with the involvement of the results of research by authoritative historians and archival documents from Russian archives that were not introduced into scientific circulation in order to comply with the principles of historicism and objectivity. In the process of research based on linking plots from the text of schema-abbot Parthenius (Ageev) to specific events from the history of the acquisition of Central Asian possessions by the Russian Empire, it was possible to reconstruct the picture described by Parthenius and correct the shortcomings made by the author. As the results of the analysis have shown, the picture presented by Parthenius, despite the deviations from the chronological and geographical framework, corresponds in the main to the real events and can serve as evidence of the voluntary acculturation of the population of the accession territories. In this respect, the Fr. Parthenius’ narrative is a valuable historical source that should be taken into account when reconstructing the processes of migration, assimilation and Christianization of the peoples of the Kyrgyz steppe and Western China.

The Participation of Women’s Monasteries in Missionary Activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Second Half of the XIX – Early XX Centuries

The study of the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the life of Russian society is an urgent task for Russian historical science. The solution of this problem requires a comprehensive objective study of the missionary activities of Orthodox monasteries in the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries. The contradiction between the insufficient knowledge of the missionary activity of women’s monasteries and the need to study it in order to obtain a holistic view and an objective assessment of this activity has become a research problem. The purpose of the article is to analyze the participation of women’s monasteries in the missionary activities of the church among groups of the Russian population of different confessions in the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that the evolution of the establishment of nunneries is investigated; the main directions and forms of their work are characterized; factors that influenced the work of monasteries in the church mission are identified; the results of their missionary activities are analyzed. For the first time, summary statistics on women’s missionary monasteries are presented. The study was conducted on the basis of a systematic approach using the principles of objectivity and historicism, historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods. The author concludes to the conclusion that the activities of women’s monasteries contributed to the expansion of the church mission through the use of various forms of work with the population. Social and charitable activities were of great importance. The advantage of nunneries is the use of forms of work that are attractive to the population. This not only contributed to the solution of missionary tasks but also ensured the cultural and civilizational development of the population, influenced its religious and moral state. The results of the research can be used in the content of the academic disciplines “History of Russia”, “History of traditional religions of Russia”, in studies on the church mission, the history of Russian Orthodox female monasticism. The prospects of the research are to study the missionary activities of “non-native” nunneries, co-religionist nunneries, and women’s missionary communities

Book review: Suvobrata Sarkar, ed., History of Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine in India

Book review: Suvobrata Sarkar, ed., History of Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine in India

FROM THE HISTORY OF THE ALASH MOVEMENT’S SOCIO-POLITICAL ACTIVITIES DURING THE CIVIL WAR

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to expand the amount of available information on the history of socio-political movements during the Civil War in the Russian Empire. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to reveal the essence of the Alash movement in Kazakhstan, its socio-political activities, and the consequences of the Civil War. The method of critical analysis was chosen as the primary approach, which facilitated the effective processing of archival and scientific sources of information, based on which further research was conducted. The following methods of scientific cognition were also used: historical and genetic, historical and system, diachronic analysis, heuristic, synthesis, deduction, and comparison. This study examines the establishment and activities of Alash Autonomy, analyzing archival facts and papers by Kazakh and foreign researchers. It cites eyewitness accounts, explores the political structure, evaluates leaders' actions, and explains intelligence work's consequences. It justifies changes in allies, details Alash-Soviet Russia cooperation, and describes outcomes. The materials of this research paper are of practical value for historical science due to the presented assessment of data on the Alash movement, analysis of scientific literature, observation and discussion presented in this study.

Overdetermination, underdetermination, and epistemic granularity in the historical sciences

The optimism vs. pessimism debate about the historical sciences is often framed in terms of arguments about the relative importance of overdetermination vs. underdetermination of historical claims by available evidence. While the interplay between natural processes that create multiple traces of past events (thereby conducive of overdetermination) and processes that erase past information (whence underdetermination) cannot be ignored, I locate the root of the debate in the epistemic granularity, or intuitively the level of detail, that pervades any historical claim justification network. To reveal the role played by granularity, I elaborate a model of historical claim justification. This model maps out the different elements that enter the justification of historical claims (incl., actual and inferred states of affairs, dating and information reconstructing theories). It also incorporates the different types of processes that affect traces of past events (information creating, preserving, modifying, and destroying processes). Granularity is shown to play a pivotal role in all elements of this model, and thereby in the inferred justification of any historical claim. As a result, while upward or downward shifts in granularity may explain changes about claims being considered as overdetermined or underdetermined, epistemic granularity constitutes an integral part of evidential reasoning in the historical sciences (and possibly elsewhere).

AGRICULTURAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE «UKRAINE FACILITY» PROGRAM

Introduction. The agricultural sector has significant potential in Ukraine and can stimulate economic growth. In this direction, the key factors are further integration into the European Union. In order to implement the specified priorities at the legislative level, the program for Ukraine "Ukraine Facility" was developed. The effectiveness of regulatory regulation of the agrarian sector should be carried out based on the study of the interaction of economic, legal and social interests and has significant scientific relevance. Systematization, structuring and generalization of the main legal provisions in the direction of reforming the agro-food sector of Ukraine within the framework of the regulations of the "Ukraine Facility" program. The research is conducted for the purpose of collecting, updating, systematizing, analyzing facts, synthesizing new knowledge and generalizations that describe legal phenomena and allow to build cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena and subsequently predict their course. Summary of the main results of the study. For the analysis, the legal norms outlined in the regulations of the program for Ukraine "Ukraine Facility" are applied, which provides for the reconstruction of the agricultural sector of our country during 2024-2027. The legislative prescriptions of the existing legal regulation of the following sectors of the agricultural market are analyzed: institutional foundations of agricultural production and sustainable development of rural areas; ensuring the operation of the agricultural land market; administrative and institutional capacity to manage investment plans for agricultural production; prospects of the electronic register of agricultural producers; irrigation sector. Conclusions. The concept of regulatory ordering and regulation of agrarian relations should take into account that their participants are endowed with awareness and independent will, namely, agricultural production should be regulated not only by economic factors, but mostly by environmental and social advantages. Classical science assumes that all participants in the food sector act in the most appropriate way, aiming to obtain the greatest income, researching agrarian relations and trying to predict the behavior of subjects of market relations, and the state of the sector was conducted precisely on this hypothesis. Comparison of the indicated indicators testify to the feasibility of adopting the legal norms set forth in the regulations of the program for Ukraine "Ukraine Facility", which provides for the reconstruction of the agricultural sector of our country during the years 2024-2027.

The Fantasy of Anorexia: Historical Entanglements of Evolutionary Thought, Food Restriction, and Curative Imaginaries

There has been a recent increase in literature that critically engages how anorexic people experience their symptoms and challenges the current approaches to recovery in treatment centers. Yet, this work does not grapple with transnational scientific histories of the medicalized construction of eating disorders that affect who is able to be legible as eating disordered. Doing so (re)naturalizes anorexia as a disease that predominantly affects white girls and women, reinforcing erasures of those not easily interpellated into anorexic subjective positions. I address this gap through a disability studies and queer science studies grounding. I analyze early French writings on anorexia’s emergent forms, US dietetics in the burgeoning domestic science movement, and the differential pathologization of body size in the context of evolutionary thinking on capacity, debility, and nervousness. In doing so, I argue that anorexia nervosa emerges through racist sciences that spread and transformed across US-Euro imperial medical geographies, effectively functioning as a curative approach to the contradictions between white supremacist securitization of whiteness and its reproductive futurities. This paper highlights implications for present eating disorder diagnostic norms, re-situating them in a broader geohistorical context during which hierarchies of ability and personhood were organized through race, gender, and capacity.

Wilhelm von Humboldt’s theory of Bildung as a moral conception of the good life

While the concept of Bildung has acquired international currency in educational and philosophical studies, its moral implications have been obscured by existing educational accounts. I present the moral implications inherent in the term through specific reference to the early works of Wilhelm von Humboldt. In contrast to previous scholarships, where Humboldt’s theory of Bildung has been deployed for drawing on the account of the true end of the human being and the inner process of interaction between the self and the world, I draw on Bildung as a moral conception of promoting a good life for others. To illustrate this conception, I (a) demonstrate the basic structure of Humboldt’s theory of Bildung by examining its four core components, (b) reconstruct Humboldt’s notion of virtue balanced state of various faculties as a moral ideal (c) consider Humboldt’s philosophical historiography to illustrate how Bildung can be mediated at individual and collective levels, and (d) present the concrete forms of the obligation to promote the good lives of others in his anthropological writings.

How Many Leave Europe and Why Do They? The Birth of Statistics on Global Migration. Brussels 1853

Abstract The historical study of the production of statistical knowledge concerning global migration has garnered little attention among historians. This is striking in light of the broader and richly explored domains of global migration regulation, knowledge production, and the history of sciences, including statistics. The marginalisation of this area in historical discourse is noteworthy, considering the pivotal role that statistical knowledge plays in understanding and managing migration. An examination of this topic unveils the interplay between migration policy, statistical methodologies and the contexts in which they were collected. Statistical data bears the mark of the context of its creation and incorporates the peculiarities related to the state of administrative technologies and the resources of the states that collected it. Such data also shows the imprint of social representation, that make it difficult to distinguish the ‘other’, the foreigner, the alien and the migrant, as well as the political agendas that justify the establishment of such a costly means of knowledge.

The history of science through the prism of race

Abstract One methodological approach to grasping a ‘big-picture’ history of modern science involves tracing the complex entanglements between scientific knowledge and the development of racism and racialized economic systems. Indeed, no historical account of any scientific field can be complete without acknowledging the role of race as an intellectual, social or economic factor. We substantiate this argument through a synthetic review of three overlapping threads in the historiography of science. First, historical research on ‘race science’ has analysed the formation of disciplines directly involved in constructing scientific concepts of race, including medicine, anthropology, linguistics, phrenology, psychology, archaeology and genetics. Second, historians have demonstrated that connections between race and science are not limited to the domain of race science. Rather, European imperial expansion, colonialism and capitalism created the foundational infrastructures undergirding the emergence of modern professional science. Finally, new research shows how race remains covertly embedded in theoretical frameworks, statistical formulae and technological devices still used by scientists today. Through these examples, we perceive a big-picture history of science in which its co-constitution with race links localized case studies and imperial narratives across space and time.

Conversation: the history of science and the ‘big picture’

Abstract This conversation article brings together six of the original contributors to the 1993 Getting the Big Picture special issue of the British Journal for the History of Science. The contributors introduce their personal memories of the 1991 conference panel which formed the basis of that special issue. They also discuss the wider intellectual, institutional and political contexts of writing the history of science during the 1980s and 1990s, before concluding with reflections on the future of the discipline. The conversation was held live online via Microsoft Teams in March 2023. A professional transcript was produced by Sarah King. The transcript was then edited by James Poskett for length and clarity, before final edits were made by the contributors.

Образ ученого-юриста в истории отечественной юриспруденции: к вопросу о факторах формирования гражданского общества в России

The article creates a generalized image of a law scientist within the framework of history of the national legal science, singles out the main professional and personality traits, shows the link to the process of the establishment of the civil society in Russia and the development of the scientific community as part of the civil society.

Russian Agrarian Economic Thought: History, Transformations, Modernity — Associated with the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences

On February 8, 2024, at the State Kremlin Palace, V. V. Putin, President of the Russian Federation, congratulating not only academicians and members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the scientific community, but also all citizens of our country, noted that the key to the present and future achievements of the Academy of Sciences is continuity of researcher’s inquiries and traditions. This article is a refl ection of the authors about the history and place of agroeconomic science in the general scientific continuum, it gives a general idea of the origins, formation, development of agrarian economic thought. During the research, the authors attempted to periodize the genesis of agricultural economy (agriculture-based economy) with large masks. Special attention in the article is paid to the current state of work on the organization, conducting, methodological guidance and coordination of research in the field of agriculture-based economy; the grand thematic areas of modern research and leading scientists who make a significant contribution to the improvement of scientific research and the development of agroeconomic science are indicated.

Decentring histories of science diplomacy: cases from Asia.

This special issue brings together a diverse set of cases from Asia with the aim of decentring established historical narratives about science diplomacy. With a critical perspective bringing together the bodies of literature in the fields of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM) and critical Asian Studies, we argue that these cases foreground a geopolitical history with multiple forms of sovereignty-often contested ones-and a range of political institutions and actors that enables us to revisit science diplomacy as a means for understanding the relationship between science and international affairs. In doing so, the articles in this issue consciously eschew the normative 'centring' of superpowers or Western imperial powers as the primary actors, focusing instead on the agency and subjectivity of actors within Asia, many of whom were prominent in their respective local contexts. Additionally, we argue that the cases presented here, which examine issues from across science, technology, medicine and the environment, collectively demonstrate the further need for the 'science' in 'science diplomacy' to be interpreted more broadly, incorporating as it does many aspects of human engagement with the material world.

«Ремесло» историка и современная историческая политика

This study aims to construct a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between the social sciences and history, particularly with the prevailing power-state system, ideology, dominant traditions, and societal values. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the research seeks to elucidate the intricate relationship between history and the societal milieu. The dialectical-materialist method serves as the methodological basis of the article. Drawing on numerous examples, the study demonstrates that history, as a science, is largely derived from society, culture, and systems of power. Furthermore, any interpretation of socio-historical processes invariably reflects the multifaceted worldview of the scientist within the socio-economic and politico-cultural context in which they are educated and indoctrinated. Historians constantly navigate between objectivity and bias due to their national-civic, class-ideological, and ethical positions. According to the author, in the context of global conflict with the West and the conduct of special military operations in Ukraine, historical politics in Russia evidently prevails over scientific history. In conclusion, this study serves as a call to critically examine the intersection of history, power, and ideology in shaping collective memory and narratives of the past.

К вопросу о роли М.В. Ломоносова в становлении отечественной исторической науки: гениальные прозрения начальной истории Руси

Russian historical scholarship boasts numerous luminaries, among whom M.V. Lomonosov occupies a distinguished position. A polymath of unparalleled erudition, Lomonosov’s expertise in historical sources propelled him to confront pivotal historiographical inquiries, setting the stage for profound intellectual debates that have reverberated through the centuries. Central to his legacy is the seminal discourse on the early history of Rus, which not only challenged prevailing interpretations but also laid the foundation for subsequent scholarly endeavors. M.V. Lomonosov’s seminal insights into the early history of Rus sparked a centuries-long discourse in Russian historical scholarship. His meticulous examination of historical sources and astute analysis prompted a paradigm shift in the interpretation of Russia’s formative years. In particular, Lomonosov’s interrogation of the origins of the Russian state catalyzed intellectual debates between proponents of Normanist and anti-Normanist theories, fundamentally reshaping the contours of Russian historiography. Moreover, he managed to quell the excitement over the ideas of G. Bayer and G. Miller, which were beginning to engulf the nascent Russian historical science. In conclusion, M.V. Lomonosov’s indelible imprint on Russian historical science is undeniable. His groundbreaking contributions, particularly in elucidating the early history of Rus, have left an enduring legacy that continues to shape scholarly inquiry. By challenging prevailing narratives and advancing novel interpretations, Lomonosov laid the groundwork for subsequent generations of historians to delve deeper into the complexities of Russia’s historical trajectory. As such, his intellectual oeuvre remains an indispensable cornerstone of Russian historiography, exemplifying the enduring power of critical inquiry and scholarly rigor in advancing our understanding of the past.