Scholarly Virtues in Nineteenth-Century Sciences and Humanities: Loyalty and Independence Entangled (1st ed. 2022)

By: Christiaan Engberts

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Synopsis: Reflecting a growing interest in the history of knowledge, this book explores the importance of scholarly virtues during the late nineteenth century. The practice of science is moulded on notions of scholarly values, such as diligence, impartiality, meticulousness and patience, but here, the author focuses on the virtues of collegial loyalty and critical independence. By analysing how virtues were reflected in day-to-day scholarly work, and examining the possibility that these virtues may have come into conflict with each other, this book sheds light on what is often described as ‘the moral economy of scholarship,’ a metaphor which draws attention to the changeability of the expectations raised by virtue. Highlighting the pre-eminence and exemplary nature of German scholarship during the nineteenth century, the author provides a detailed analysis of four evaluative practices used by scholars across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences in a number of German universities.This allows a nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between collegial loyalty and critical independence in the academic working environment, and draws comparisons across varying disciplines. A welcome contribution to a growing field of research, this book provides a comparative and transdisciplinary overview of scholarly virtues and will be of interest to those researching the history of science and the humanities.