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A Vision of Modern ScienceTyndall’s Work as a Scientist

A Vision of Modern Science: Tyndall’s Work as a Scientist [“The meek and retiring manner of Michael Faraday was symbolic of the apologetic attitude which physical science adopted when it was first being popularised. It is now no longer the modest shrinking maiden, its face knows not the blush of shame, its mien is arrogant and aggressive.”1 This statement was published in a New York periodical called The World in 1876, three years after John Tyndall’s lecture tour of the United States, and it is probable that Tyndall, in spite of—or perhaps because of—the popularity of his lectures in America, served as one of the main targets for the statement’s imagery of arrogance and aggression. The comparison demonstrates one way in which the popular image of scientists changed over time. Whereas Faraday was almost defined by his gentle reclusivity, an image that, by virtue of his immense reputation, commentators often extended to science of the early nineteenth century in general, Tyndall was known as an adventurous fighter, a man fighting for the cause of science in society, who was not only willing but eager to take on all the Victorian traditions that stood in the way of making scientific thinking the basis of education and social policy.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Vision of Modern ScienceTyndall’s Work as a Scientist

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References (15)

Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan US
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Nature America Inc. 2011
ISBN
978-1-349-29297-4
Pages
19 –58
DOI
10.1057/9780230118058_2
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[“The meek and retiring manner of Michael Faraday was symbolic of the apologetic attitude which physical science adopted when it was first being popularised. It is now no longer the modest shrinking maiden, its face knows not the blush of shame, its mien is arrogant and aggressive.”1 This statement was published in a New York periodical called The World in 1876, three years after John Tyndall’s lecture tour of the United States, and it is probable that Tyndall, in spite of—or perhaps because of—the popularity of his lectures in America, served as one of the main targets for the statement’s imagery of arrogance and aggression. The comparison demonstrates one way in which the popular image of scientists changed over time. Whereas Faraday was almost defined by his gentle reclusivity, an image that, by virtue of his immense reputation, commentators often extended to science of the early nineteenth century in general, Tyndall was known as an adventurous fighter, a man fighting for the cause of science in society, who was not only willing but eager to take on all the Victorian traditions that stood in the way of making scientific thinking the basis of education and social policy.]

Published: Nov 12, 2015

Keywords: Royal Society; Royal Institution; British Association; Public Figure; Scientific Authority

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