On the Pursuit of Utility at the Académie Royale des Sciences: A Reconsideration of its Origins

academie

J. B. Shank (University of Minnesota), ‘On the Pursuit of Utility at the Académie Royale des Sciences: A Reconsideration of its Origins’

Respondent: Robin Briggs (University of Oxford)

In a seminal article from 1991, Robin Briggs argued for the centrality of utility in motivating and organizing the scientific work pursued at the Académie Royale des Sciences before 1725. This talk revisits Briggs' theses and offers a different political-institutional genealogy of Enlightenment scientific utility at the French royal academy.

Part of the Besterman Enlightenment Workshop series, Hilary Term 2016.

Sponsored by the TORCH Enlightenment Programme/ Besterman Centre for the Enlightenment

Convenors: Laurence Brockliss, Nicholas Cronk, Kelsey Rubin-Detlev

 

Enlightenment

Audience: Open to all