Collective Wisdom: Collecting in the Early Modern Academy ed. by Anna Marie Roos and Vera Keller (review)

IF 0.8 3区 哲学 Q2 HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Aurélien Ruellet
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This is one of the numerous narratives that are scattered throughout the volume <em>Collective Wisdom</em>, edited by Anna Marie Roos and Vera Keller, the result of three conferences that brought together scholars from different countries and thematic horizons.</p> <p>At the core of most of the eleven contributions, finely put in a wider historiographical perspective by the introduction, lays the question of the circulation of objects and the building of collections within the learned societies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Ingeniously referred to as “collective wisdom,” the focus of the book is on “the knowledge gained from studying collections . . . and the collections generated through objectbased study and exchange (archives, correspondence, journals)” (p. 16). The chapters are not about the birth of museums, but rather about the way collections, sometimes heterogeneous, composed of antiquities as much as of natural specimens, were circulated among equally heterogeneous social grounds, involving physicians, surgeons, quacks, merchants, and apothecaries, and how those objects were the support of an intellectual interest that was not confined to curiosity. The geographic focus is on central and northern Europe, with chapters devoted to the Leopoldina, which held its meetings in Halle; the Spalding Gentlemen Society in Lincolnshire (SGS); the multifarious activities of the collector and professor Ole Worm in Copenhagen; the uses of objects and collections in pedagogic activities inspired by Comenius; or learned circles in the commercial cities of Frankfurt/Main and Dantzig.</p> <p>The historian of technology will find many points of interest: besides the discussions of technical objects (like the “roman lamp”—actually a medieval Jewish lamp used for Sabbath—that Hans Sloane offered to the Society of Antiquaries) or technical processes (see for example the chapter by C. Grell on the metrological works of Burratini in Egypt), the contributions shed light on a series of technologies of knowledge management in those learned societies. The reader can appreciate, thanks to many illustrations in color, extracts from the minute book of the SGS: its entries, pointing at the presence of an object during a session, also gave information about its origin and provider, cross-references to other entries, and sometimes also featured realistic drawings. This “virtual witnessing” device was paired with a museographic <strong>[End Page 1021]</strong> reflection to enable the members to conveniently access the objects and to ease their consultation or their display during the meetings of the society.</p> <p>The culture of curiosity was not opposed to an experimental approach: the <em>Miscellanea Curiosa</em> (the journal of the Leopoldina) tried to reach an equilibrium between the presentation of specimens, more than often curious or monstrous, and the <em>scholion</em>, comments that were informed by erudition and skepticism, the two being clearly distinguished by the textual layout. The learned society, whose core membership was composed of physicians, thus traced epistemic as well as social boundaries that kept at a distance information purveyors such as apothecaries, midwives, or charlatans, while critically integrating their contributions. The historian of early modern science will be interested in the uncovering of the links that connected this collective wisdom and the better-known places of scientific achievement, in the guise of correspondence or the exchange of books and objects between, for instance, the Royal Society and some of those learned societies.</p> <p>The conclusive chapter by Louisiane Ferlier aptly puts in historical perspective the issues of curating, classifying, publishing, and making the texts of this collective wisdom accessible to the audience. 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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Reviewed by:

  • Collective Wisdom: Collecting in the Early Modern Academy ed. by Anna Marie Roos and Vera Keller
  • Aurélien Ruellet (bio)
Collective Wisdom: Collecting in the Early Modern Academy
Edited by Anna Marie Roos and Vera Keller. Turnhout: Brepols, 2022. Pp. 323.

In January 1742, a mummified ibis was presented at a meeting of the Egyptian Society in London, then carefully dissected a few days later. During another session, a mummy was opened by one of the members, Charles Pococke, who made hypotheses regarding the chemical components of the pigments used for coffins as well as the embalmment techniques. This is one of the numerous narratives that are scattered throughout the volume Collective Wisdom, edited by Anna Marie Roos and Vera Keller, the result of three conferences that brought together scholars from different countries and thematic horizons.

At the core of most of the eleven contributions, finely put in a wider historiographical perspective by the introduction, lays the question of the circulation of objects and the building of collections within the learned societies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Ingeniously referred to as “collective wisdom,” the focus of the book is on “the knowledge gained from studying collections . . . and the collections generated through objectbased study and exchange (archives, correspondence, journals)” (p. 16). The chapters are not about the birth of museums, but rather about the way collections, sometimes heterogeneous, composed of antiquities as much as of natural specimens, were circulated among equally heterogeneous social grounds, involving physicians, surgeons, quacks, merchants, and apothecaries, and how those objects were the support of an intellectual interest that was not confined to curiosity. The geographic focus is on central and northern Europe, with chapters devoted to the Leopoldina, which held its meetings in Halle; the Spalding Gentlemen Society in Lincolnshire (SGS); the multifarious activities of the collector and professor Ole Worm in Copenhagen; the uses of objects and collections in pedagogic activities inspired by Comenius; or learned circles in the commercial cities of Frankfurt/Main and Dantzig.

The historian of technology will find many points of interest: besides the discussions of technical objects (like the “roman lamp”—actually a medieval Jewish lamp used for Sabbath—that Hans Sloane offered to the Society of Antiquaries) or technical processes (see for example the chapter by C. Grell on the metrological works of Burratini in Egypt), the contributions shed light on a series of technologies of knowledge management in those learned societies. The reader can appreciate, thanks to many illustrations in color, extracts from the minute book of the SGS: its entries, pointing at the presence of an object during a session, also gave information about its origin and provider, cross-references to other entries, and sometimes also featured realistic drawings. This “virtual witnessing” device was paired with a museographic [End Page 1021] reflection to enable the members to conveniently access the objects and to ease their consultation or their display during the meetings of the society.

The culture of curiosity was not opposed to an experimental approach: the Miscellanea Curiosa (the journal of the Leopoldina) tried to reach an equilibrium between the presentation of specimens, more than often curious or monstrous, and the scholion, comments that were informed by erudition and skepticism, the two being clearly distinguished by the textual layout. The learned society, whose core membership was composed of physicians, thus traced epistemic as well as social boundaries that kept at a distance information purveyors such as apothecaries, midwives, or charlatans, while critically integrating their contributions. The historian of early modern science will be interested in the uncovering of the links that connected this collective wisdom and the better-known places of scientific achievement, in the guise of correspondence or the exchange of books and objects between, for instance, the Royal Society and some of those learned societies.

The conclusive chapter by Louisiane Ferlier aptly puts in historical perspective the issues of curating, classifying, publishing, and making the texts of this collective wisdom accessible to the audience. All those operations are now digital; the danger of a bug has replaced that of the vermin that devoured the texts; the technical choices relate more to the selection of a viewing software than to the location...

集体智慧:Anna Marie Roos 和 Vera Keller 编著的《早期现代学院的收藏》(评论)
评论者: 集体智慧:由 Anna Marie Roos 和 Vera Keller 编辑的《早期现代学院的收藏》 Aurélien Ruellet (bio) Collective Wisdom:由 Anna Marie Roos 和 Vera Keller 编辑。Turnhout:Brepols,2022 年。Pp.323.1742 年 1 月,一具朱鹮木乃伊在伦敦埃及学会的一次会议上展出,几天后被仔细解剖。在另一次会议上,查尔斯-波克(Charles Pococke)打开了一具木乃伊,并就棺木所用颜料的化学成分以及防腐技术提出了假设。安娜-玛丽-罗斯(Anna Marie Roos)和维拉-凯勒(Vera Keller)编著的《集体智慧》一书中散落着大量叙述,这是三次会议的成果之一,来自不同国家和不同主题领域的学者汇聚一堂。导言从更广阔的历史学视角对 11 篇文章中的大部分进行了细化,其核心问题是十七和十八世纪学术团体内部的物品流通和藏书建设。本书被巧妙地称为 "集体智慧",其重点是 "从研究藏品中获得的知识......以及通过物品产生的藏品"。......以及通过基于对象的研究和交流(档案、通信、期刊)而产生的收藏"(第 16 页)。书中的章节并不是关于博物馆的诞生,而是关于藏品(有时是异质的,由古物和自然标本组成)在同样异质的社会环境中流通的方式,包括内科医生、外科医生、庸医、商人和药剂师,以及这些物品是如何支撑起一种不局限于好奇心的知识兴趣的。该书的地域重点是中欧和北欧,其中一些章节专门介绍了在哈勒举行会议的利奥波德协会、林肯郡的斯伯丁绅士协会(SGS)、哥本哈根收藏家兼教授奥勒-沃姆的各种活动、受夸美纽斯启发而在教学活动中使用的物品和藏品,以及法兰克福/美因和丹齐格等商业城市的学术界。技术史学家会发现许多有趣之处:除了对技术物品(如汉斯-斯隆提供给古董商协会的 "罗马灯"--实际上是一盏中世纪犹太人用于安息日的灯)或技术流程(例如,参见 C. Grell 关于埃及布尔拉蒂尼的计量学著作的章节)的讨论外,文章还揭示了这些学术团体中的一系列知识管理技术。通过许多彩色插图,读者可以欣赏到 SGS 会议记录簿的摘录:其中的条目指出了某一物品在会议期间的存在,还提供了有关其来源和提供者的信息,以及与其他条目的交叉参考,有时还配有逼真的图画。这种 "虚拟见证 "装置与博物馆图 [完 第 1021 页] 像相结合,使会员们能够方便地获取物品,并方便在协会会议期间查阅或展示这些物品。好奇心文化并不反对实验性方法:《古玩杂记》(利奥波德会的会刊)试图在展示标本(往往是奇特或畸形的标本)与学术论文(以博学和怀疑精神为基础的评论)之间达成一种平衡,二者在文字编排上有明显的区别。因此,以医生为核心成员的学术团体追溯了认识论和社会的界限,与药剂师、助产士或江湖术士等信息传播者保持距离,同时批判性地整合他们的贡献。现代早期科学史家将会对发掘连接这种集体智慧和科学成就的知名场所的纽带感兴趣,这些纽带以通信或书籍和物品交换的形式出现,例如皇家学会和其中一些学会之间的通信或书籍和物品交换。路易西安-费里埃(Louisiane Ferlier)总结性的一章从历史的角度恰当地阐述了如何对这些集体智慧的文本进行整理、分类、出版,以及如何让读者获取这些文本的问题。现在,所有这些操作都实现了数字化;错误的危险取代了吞噬文本的害虫的危险;技术选择更多地与选择观看软件有关,而不是与位置有关......
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来源期刊
Technology and Culture
Technology and Culture 社会科学-科学史与科学哲学
CiteScore
0.60
自引率
14.30%
发文量
225
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Technology and Culture, the preeminent journal of the history of technology, draws on scholarship in diverse disciplines to publish insightful pieces intended for general readers as well as specialists. Subscribers include scientists, engineers, anthropologists, sociologists, economists, museum curators, archivists, scholars, librarians, educators, historians, and many others. In addition to scholarly essays, each issue features 30-40 book reviews and reviews of new museum exhibitions. To illuminate important debates and draw attention to specific topics, the journal occasionally publishes thematic issues. Technology and Culture is the official journal of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT).
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