Democratizing science in the eighteenth century: Resonances between condorcet's Sketch (1795) and twenty-first century science communication

Lindy A. Orthia*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The twenty-first century has witnessed a shift in science communication ideals from one-way science popularization activities towards more reflexive, participatory approaches to public engagement with science. Yet our longue durée histories of science communication's antecedents focus on the former and have neglected the latter. In this paper I identify parallels between modern science communication ideals and an iconic Enlightenment text, Condorcet's Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind (1795). I show that Condorcet's carefully negotiated balance between scientific reason and radical principles of democracy has much in common with twenty-first century debates about science communication.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numberA04
    JournalJournal of Science Communication
    Volume15
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

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