Origins, Trends and Perspectives of Historical-Epistemological Research on Piaget.

In this paper, several points of view are adopted to present the research directions of contemporary Piagetian historiography. This article first notes the immensity of the secondary literature (20'000 texts) related to Piaget's work, between empirical and historical-epistemological works. In order to get a more precise idea, we carried out various analyses of the scope of influence of his work: on the 2000 keywords of the thesaurus of secondary literature from 1945 to 2012; on the reception of Piaget's idea in France between 1920 and 1940; and on the disciplines of insertion of a thousand works from his private library, which were dedicated to him. These analyses corroborate Piaget's multidisciplinary impact in the 20th century science and culture and indicate the existence of an international Piagetian movement, which has not yet been studied. The factors of production and the recent orientations of the secondary literature are then discussed, showing the changes in the historiography of the last 50 years. Finally, future research directions are outlined between the exploitation of unknown archives and the use of a digital edition of Piaget's work, which is currently underway.

A networking model. The case of the International Center for Genetic Epistemology / Um modelo de rede. O caso do Centro Internacional de Epistemologia Genética / Un modelo de red. El caso del Centro Internacional de Epistemología Genética

The article reviews the process of conformation of the International Center for Genetic Epistemology (CIEG), which functioned at the University of Geneva between 1955 and 1986. This Center led by Jean Piaget had the collaboration of hundreds of researchers from around the world and from different disciplines. We will here review the configuration of the centripetal circuits that led to the constitution of an institution with a double centrality. On the one hand, taking into account the history of international scientific circulations, it is feasible to recognize in the CIEG a reference point from which the radial journeys of social exchanges with different scientific communities can be reconstructed. On the other hand, we can identify a research program that positioned psychology at the core of epistemological debates. To contribute to the historical analysis of this double movement of centration, geography and theory, we examine the development of a series of strategies tending to the start-up of the Center, deployed during the first years of the 1950s.(AU)

O artigo analisa o processo de constituição do Centro Internacional de Epistemologia Genética (CIEG), localizado na Universidade de Genebra entre 1955 e 1986. Este centro liderado por Jean Piaget contava com a colaboração de centenas de pesquisadores de todo o mundo e de diferentes disciplinas. Aqui, revisaremos a configuração dos circuitos centrípetos que levaram à constituição de uma instituição com dupla centralidade. Por um lado, levando em conta a história das circulações científicas internacionais, é viável reconhecer no CIEG um ponto de referência a partir do qual as viagens radiais de trocas sociais com diferentes comunidades científicas podem ser reconstruídas. Por outro lado, podemos identificar um programa de pesquisa que posicionou a psicologia no centro dos debates epistemológicos. Para contribuir com a análise histórica desse duplo movimento de centralização, geografia e teoria, examinamos o desenvolvimento de uma série de estratégias, do Centro, implantadas nos primeiros anos da década de 1950.(AU)

El artículo revisa el proceso de conformación del Centro Internacional de Epistemología Genética (CIEG), radicado en la Universidad de Ginebra entre 1955 y 1986. Este Centro liderado por Jean Piaget contó con la colaboración de cientos de investigadores de todo el mundo y de diversas disciplinas. Aquí, nos ocuparemos de revisar la configuración de los circuitos centrípetos que desembocaron en la constitución de una institución con una doble centralidad. Por un lado, atendiendo a la historia de las circulaciones científicas internacionales, es factible reconocer en el CIEG un lugar de referencia desde el cual pueden reconstruirse los trayectos radiales de intercambios sociales con diferentes comunidades científicas. Por otra parte, podemos identificar un programa de investigación que posicionó a la psicología en el núcleo de los debates epistemológicos. Para contribuir al análisis histórico de este doble movimiento de centralización, geográfica y teórica, examinamos el desarrollo de una serie de estrategias tendientes a la puesta en marcha del Centro, desplegadas durante los primeros años de la década de 1950.(AU)

The Trembley Effect or the birth of marine zoology.

At a time when Europe was engaged in the War of Austrian succession, an unknown scholar, Abraham Trembley, managed to dramatically influence the course of the Natural Sciences. He focused his interest not only on the properties of a new organism, the polyp later named Hydra, and its freshwater environment, but also on the communication of his discoveries to the most estimable scholarly circles of his time. Under the patronage of influential scholars, Réaumur in Paris and Folkes in London, he forged a new perspective on a common object – water. Everyone had seen a glass of water and through it he could project the concept of a wet laboratory and hence reshape the experimental practices of naturalists. His research propelled a surge of interest for investigation of the aquatic environment, a new line of investigative force that can be called the Trembley Effect. This effect pushed scholars to explore the shallow areas of water, to test the properties of tiny aquatic bodies, to examine the frontiers between organisms. Thanks to Trembley, it was the first time that, in a fully artificial setting, man could give life to an animal species, a practice that created for all of those who tried it, an enigmatic feeling of power that stirred passions for decades. Indeed this experimental approach that emerged in parallel to Linnaean classifications, inaugurated a new phase of Natural Sciences.

Experimentation, communication and patronage: a perspective on René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683-1757).

Historians of science have neglected the French Academician Réaumur, whose work is emblematic of a modern conception of science that joins together technology, science, and society. Réaumur practised rigorous experimentation on organisms, and uncovered industrial and utilitarian secrets which he communicated to the public. His patronage was essential in boosting the generation of young naturalists of the 1740s who advanced further the experimental approach to the study of nature. For Réaumur, his work was not separate from his mission to disclose and communicate previously restricted knowledge for the benefits of science and society.

Abraham Trembley's strategy of generosity and the scope of celebrity in the mid-eighteenth century.

Historians of science have long believed that Abraham Trembley's celebrity and impact were attributable chiefly to the incredible regenerative phenomena demonstrated by the polyp, which he discovered in 1744, and to the new experimental method he devised to investigate them. This essay shows that experimental method alone cannot account for Trembley's success and influence; nor are the marvels of the polyp sufficient to explain its scientific and cultural impact. Experimental method was but one element in a new conception of the laboratory that called for both experimental and para-experimental skills whose public availability depended on a new style of communication. The strategy of generosity that led Trembley to dispatch polyps everywhere enabled experimental naturalist laboratories to spread throughout Europe, and the free circulation of living objects for scientific research led practitioners to establish an experimental field distinct from mechanical physics. Scholars reacted to the marvels of the polyp by strengthening the boundaries between the public and academic spheres and, in consequence, opened a space for new standards in both scientific work and the production of celebrity.

[Clandestinity, authority and experiments: styles and controversies on spontaneous generation from the Journal de Trévoux (1735) to Réaumur (1757)]. / Clandestinité, autorité et expérimentalisme. Styles et querelles de la génération Spontanée de trévoux (1735) à réaumur (1757).

The article investigates the role of anonymous writings in the controversy on spontaneous generation, notably those involving Réaumur, Needham and Buffon. Contrary to the standard view, it is apparent that Needham's and Buffon's theories and experiments were not neglected, but were discussed in a number of articles published in scientific journals, as the Journal Britannique and the Journal Economique. The perusal of scientific journals of the mid-18th century shows that most articles dealing with generation were anonymous. Such a practice was not confined to publications containing materialistic views, but was also adopted by authors who wanted to avoid public involvement in debates on metaphysical issues.