Brunschvicg and the history of philosophy in his connection to the sciences

Résumé 0

While Brunschvicg’s work as a historian of philosophy is widely recognized, his endeavors in what he called scientific philosophy raise certain perplexing questions. This aspect of his work was overshadowed by Bachelard and his philosophy of the new scientific spirit. The advent of analytic philosophy and its reception in France further diverted attention from Brunschvicg’s historical approach and criticism of Russell’s philosophy of logic. Yet, Brunschvicg strove tirelessly to bring philosophy and science closer together. He undertook a careful and in-depth study of the most recent theories of mathematics and physics. Today, as history has again come to the fore, there is an increased demand for a variety of historically-based methods. The aim of this article is to investigate Brunschvicg’s philosophy of science afresh.