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Representation of Innovation in Seventeenth-Century England: A View from Natural Philosophy

Godin, Benoît (2016). Representation of Innovation in Seventeenth-Century England: A View from Natural Philosophy Contributions to the History of Concepts , vol. 11 , nº 2. pp. 24-42. DOI: 10.3167/choc.2016.110202.

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Résumé

Our present understanding of innovation is closely linked to science and research on the one hand and economy and industry on the other. It has not always been so. Back in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the concept was mainly used in religious and political discourses. In these contexts, actors used it in a pejorative sense. Innovation, imagined as a radical transformation, was considered a peril to the established social order. Such was natural philosophers’ understanding. This article documents Francis Bacon’s work as an eminent example of such a representation. To Bacon, natural philosophy and innovation are two distinct spheres of activity. It is documented that Bacon’s uses of the concept of innovation are found mainly in political, legal, and moral writings, not natural philosophy, because to Bacon and all others of his time, innovation is poli tical.

Type de document: Article
Mots-clés libres: Francis Bacon; conceptual history; innovation; natural philosophy; science
Centre: Centre Urbanisation Culture Société
Date de dépôt: 04 août 2017 14:26
Dernière modification: 04 août 2017 14:26
URI: https://espace.inrs.ca/id/eprint/6074

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