William Whewell
William Whewell (born May 24, 1794 in Lancaster , † March 6, 1866 in Cambridge , pronunciation ˈhjuːəl ) was a British philosopher and historian of science.
Live and act
William Whewell was a Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge from 1817 and President of the Cambridge Union Society in 1818 . From 1828 to 1832 he was professor of mineralogy and from 1838 to 1855 professor of moral philosophy ("moral theology and casuistical divinity") at Cambridge University .
Whewell's creations of words are among his lasting contributions to science. In 1834, in a review of Mary Somervilles On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences, he first used the word scientist , the English word for scientist. In the same writing, he also contradicted the thesis of the philosopher François Poullain de La Barre that the mind has no gender, and thus assigned men and women - according to a scientific discourse of his time - a different but in both cases justified ability to conduct science. Above all, at the request of Michael Faraday , whose work on the chemical effects of electric current required new terms , he coined the terms anode , cathode , anion , cation and ion .
Whewell died in the grounds of Trinity College, Cambridge, in a fatal fall from his horse in 1866. In his will, he endowed, among other things, the Whewell Chair in International Law at Cambridge University, which was established two years after his death.
Honors
- In 1820 he was elected as a member (" Fellow ") in the Royal Society , which in 1837 awarded him the Royal Medal .
- 1841 British polar explorer named James Clark Ross the Mount Whewell in Antarctica after him.
- In 1845 he was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .
- In 1847 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .
- In 1852 the newly discovered mineral whewellite was named after him.
- In 1935 the moon crater Whewell was named after him.
- In 1970, Whewell indirectly gave its name to the Whewell Glacier in Antarctica
Fonts (selection)
- An Essay on Mineralogical Classification and Nomenclature. 1828 ( at Internet Archive )
- On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences, by Mrs. Somerville . In: The Quarterly Review . Volume 51, 1834, pp. 54-68 ( online ).
- Astronomy and General Physics considered with reference to Natural Theology . (a Bridgewater Treatises ).
- The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences . 1840.
- The Elements of Morality, including Polity . 1845.
- The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences founded upon their History . 1840, 2nd edition 1847 ( at Internet Archive )
- History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Time . 1837ff., 3rd edition 1873.
- The History of Scientific Ideas . 1858.
- Novum Organon Renovatum . 1858.
- On the Philosophy of Discovery . 1860.
- Six Lectures on Political Economy . 1862.
See also
- Whewell rings, see squeeze rings
Individual evidence
- ^ William Whewell: On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences, by Mrs. Somerville, in: Quarterly Review 51, March 1834, pp. 65-66.
- ↑ Londa Schiebinger: The Mind has no sex? Women in the Origins of Modern Science. Cambridge / MA, London: Harvard University Press , 1989, ISBN 0-674-57623-3 , p. 5.
- ^ Keith James Laidler: The world of physical chemistry . Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-19-855919-4 , p. 203
- ^ Entry on Whewell; William (1794 - 1866) in the Archives of the Royal Society , London
- ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed April 22, 2020 .
Web links
- Literature by and about William Whewell in the catalog of the German National Library
- John J. O'Connor, Edmund F. Robertson : William Whewell. In: MacTutor History of Mathematics archive .
- Laura J. Snyder: Entry in Edward N. Zalta (Ed.): Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy .
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Whewell, William |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British philosopher and economic historian |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 24, 1794 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Lancaster , England |
DATE OF DEATH | March 6, 1866 |
Place of death | Cambridge , England |