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Gaston Bachelard

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Philosopher

The Resume

    (June 27, 1884-October 16, 1962)
    Born in Bar-sur-Aube, France
    Devised the terms 'epistemological obstacle' (unconscious structures that were immanent within the realm of science) and 'epistemological break' (a condition in which an unconscious obstacle to scientific thought is broken away)
    Argued against Auguste Comte's positivism by saying that recent scientific developments showed the discontinuous nature of the history of science
    Professor at University of Dijon (1930-1940)
    Wrote 'The New Scientific Spirit' (1934), 'The Formation of the Scientific Mind' (1938), 'The Psychoanalysis of Fire' (1938), 'Earth and Reveries of Repose' (1946), 'Earth and Reveries of Will' (1948), 'Applied Rationalism' (1949), 'The Poetics of Space' (1958), 'The Poetics of Reverie: Childhood, Language, and the Cosmos' (1960), and 'The Rationalist Engagement' (1972)
    Named a chevalier by the Legion of Honor (1937)
    Received Grand Prix National des Lettres (1961)
    Died in Paris

Why he might be annoying:

    He claimed that error is merely an illusion or negativity.
    His connection of psychology and the history of science is less well-known in the English-speaking world.
    Even though he devised the term 'epistemological break', he almost never used it, and the term didn't become well-known until Louis Althusser popularized it.
    He had pretty bad taste in hair.
    He shared his name with a Disney villain.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His study of epistemology helped connect philosophy and science together.
    His wife died two years after the birth of their daughter. (1920)
    By explaining the tensions and breakdowns of the development of thought, his studies also provided a new perspective on the history of science.
    By explaining that old theories are integrated into a larger framework with each new discovery rather than discarded outright, he implied that there's still some value to old ideas.
    In his 'Poetics of Reverie', he acknowledges the evocative nature of poetry in its ability to grant people access to their souls through reverie.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 26 Votes: 42.31% Annoying