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Studia Historiae Scientiarum

Description

The publications of the journal concern the following:

  • general history of science and its relationships with other domains of culture (philosophy, religion, art and technology) and other meta-sciences (philosophy of science, sociology of the scientific knowledge, scientometrics etc.);
  • history of specific disciplines (scientific theories, world views, scholars and scientific institutions);
  • history of scientific institutions researching the history of science;
  • tools and techniques for research in the history of scienceand teaching of the history of science.


Particular importance is placed on:

  • the Polish contribution to science;
  • mutual interactions of the Polish science and the foreign science;
  • international collaboration regarding the history of science;
  • open science regarding the history of science (including digital libraries) both on a national and international level;
  • critical appraisal of bibliometrics in the light of the history of science

ISSN: 2451-3202

eISSN: 2543-702X

MNiSW points: 100

UIC ID: 200176

DOI: 10.4467/2543702XSHS

Editorial team

Editor-in-Chief & Editorial Secretary:
Prof. dr hab. Michał Kokowski
Deputy Editor-in-Chief:
Dr hab., prof. UR Stanisław Domoradzki
Statistical Editor:
Dr Alicja Rafalska-Łasocha
Advisory Editors:
Dr Wioletta Miśkiewicz
Dr Jan Surman
Prof., PhD Roman Sznajder
Linguistic Editor (Polish):
Mgr Edyta Podolska-Frej
Linguistic Editor (English):
Mgr Filip Klepacki

Affiliation

Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences

Journal content

see all issues Next

23 (2024)

Publication date: 11.09.2024

Editor-in-Chief & Editorial Secretary: Michał Kokowski

Issue content

EDITORIAL

Michał Kokowski

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 11-19

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.001.19574

The article outlines the eleventh phase of the development of the journal Studia Historiae Scientiarum (previously Prace Komisji Historii Nauki PAU / Proceedings of the PAU Commission on the History of Science).Information is provided on the following: the journal’s evaluation by the ICI Master Journal List 2022 (released at the end of 2023), the evaluation by the CWTS Journal Indicators 2023 (5 June 2024), the evaluation by the SCImago Journal Rankings 2023 (based on the data from Scopus released in April 2024), the evaluation by Scopus 2023 (released on 5 June 2024), the evaluation by the PN IHN PAN 2023 (released on 5 October 2023), and the evaluation by Web of Science.

Additionally, the number of foreign authors and reviewers of the current volume of the journal is quoted.

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TRANSLATIONS

Pierre Curie, Andrzej Ziółkowski

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 23-67

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.002.19575

In this work, the classical concept of symmetry limited to geometric objects (figures and solids), which originated from ancient Greece, has been extended to allow for symmetry studies in other types of objects.

By introducing the concepts of limiting point groups and kinematic elements characteristic for a studied object, it was determined what types of symmetries are exhibited by an electric field and a magnetic field. It was established that in order for a phenomenon to occur, a characteristic symmetry of a medium must be consistent with the characteristic symmetry of the phenomenon occurring in it. It was also determined that the symmetry elements of the causes must be found in the symmetry of their effects.

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FOCAL POINT

Konrad Dydak Rycyk

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 71-129

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.003.19576

De revolutionibus [orbium coelestium] by Nicolaus Copernicus was a groundbreaking work for 16th-century Europe. Copernicus’s cosmological thesis was in some opposition to Ptolemy’s thesis and therefore opinio communis, not without some error, called it the heliocentric theory. It seems that the cosmological thesis should not be understood only as a simple negation of the earlier theory and Copernicus’s good knowledge of Greek metaphysics and cosmology also played its part. So, what were the grounds upon which Copernicus’s philosophy was founded? Can these premises be found in the analyses of the Pythagoreans and Greek mathematicians Aristarchus and Eudoxus? Are such premises provided only by Plato and Aristotle? Is it possible to indicate other Greek sources of Copernicus’s theory? If so, do they really support the claim that the Copernican theory is in fact a forgotten ancient theory?

An attempt to answer these questions is as follows: after a brief presentation of the historical background of the appearance of Copernicus’s theory and its main early theses (Commentariolus), geocentric positions and views in the Middle Ages and their Greek sources will be presented. Next, going back in history, views and positions which underlie the non-geocentric cosmology will be presented, also those that were recalled and recorded by Copernicus in his treatises. Finally, there will be presented and analyzed – though probably unknown to Copernicus – philosophical and cosmological positions and views, which in Greek thinking, even at its beginnings, may constitute loci philosophici, the premises and sources of non-geocentric cosmology.

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Ünsal Çimen

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 131-153

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.004.19577
Copernicus claimed the Earth revolves around itself and the Sun. He also claimed that the universe was finite and that no intelligent life existed on other planets. Galileo and Kepler shared these claims; therefore, they deserve to be called Copernicans. But what about Giordano Bruno? He adopted Hermetic philosophy and opposed Copernicus’s mathematical (geometric) method; he also claimed, unlike Copernicus, that the universe was infinite and that there were intelligent life forms on other planets. So, can we define Bruno and those who thought like him as Copernicans? Ernan McMullin answers this question in the negative. In this paper, I will argue that the differences between Bruno and Copernicus mentioned by McMullin cannot be used as criteria for claiming that Bruno and others who thought like him were not Copernicans; instead, I argue that believing the Earth rotates around itself and the Sun should be considered sufficient to call someone a Copernican.
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Michał Kokowski

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 155-228

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.005.19578
This article is an introduction to the subject of Copernicus and astrology. It presents an overview of a set of facts and positions of researchers exploring the relevant ideas of Copernicus, as well as the author’s own perspective. A key role is played by a critique of R.S. Westman’s theses.
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Michał Kokowski

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 229-304

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.006.19579
The article is an introduction to the subject of “Copernicus and astrology”. An overview of the set of facts and positions of researchers of Copernicus’s thought related to this topic is presented, as well as the author’s position. A key role is played by the criticism of R.S. Westman’s theses.
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George Borski, Ivan Kolkov

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 305-357

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.007.19580
The question ‘Was Copernicus an astrologer’ is prima facie very clear, while in fact being quite ambiguous. This question should rather be regarded as a vast topic covering lots of more concise questions such as ‘Was Copernicus thoroughly educated in astrology?’, ‘Did Copernicus believe in astrology?’ or ‘Did a mature Copernicus practice astrology?’
Unfortunately, thus far, consensus has not been achieved among historians on any of them. Accordingly, the topic has been for some time, and still is, a battlefield of the most acrimonious debates in Copernicology, nay, perhaps in the whole history of science.
Carefully made distinctions and subsequent analysis of the common pro et contra arguments enabled this paper to arbitrate the different perspectives. None of the arguments has been found to have a decisive force. In general, while the pro lines of reasoning are normally based upon insecure or even faulty inductive logic, their contra counterparts often suffer from ex silentio inferences or even ad ignorantiam fallacy.
Two new, subtle arguments have been introduced instead. They can be considered as genuine new evidence allowing for the resolution of some lingering doubts. First, the natal charts of Copernicus that were cast in the middle of the 16th century have been studied. The excessively exact birth hour of Copernicus at 4:48 p.m. has quite naturally been expected to be a result of a preliminary astrological rectification. However, apparently it was not rectified by the algorithms most popular at the time. The findings suggest the number-symbolic rather than astrological inclinations of Copernicus.
Further, a careful analysis of Copernicus’s annotations in the Alfonsine Tables revealed a link between the misprints corrected by him and the ancient observations he included in De Revolutionibus. Consequently, an extensive astrological use of the tables by him can be excluded with a high probability. Moreover, Copernicus likely never used Regiomontanus Tables on a regular basis either.
The conclusion integrates all the available arguments pertinent to the relationship of Copernicus with astrology.
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Sylwia Konarska-Zimnicka

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 359-393

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.008.19581
Nicolaus Copernicus’s achievements in the field of astronomy are widely known and undisputed, but few people know that he also studied astrology – in his time recognised as a science and a subject of academic lectures. Evidence of this activity, though scarce, is preserved in the margins of one of the popular astrological treatises of the 15th and 16th centuries, which was owned by Nicolaus Copernicus. Thanks to these marginal notes it is possible to undertake a consideration of the scale and reasons for the involvement of the astronomer in the exploration of astrology.
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SCIENCE IN POLAND

Milena Cygan

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 397-431

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.009.19582
The article discusses the concept of science proposed by Andrzej Trzciński (1749–1823), a Krakow professor of physics during the Enlightenment era. In 1811, he published Uwagi na Rozprawę o krytyce Stanisława Kostki Potockiego [Remarks on Stanisław Kostka Potocki’s Treatise on Critique]. Typically, this text has been perceived by researchers as insignificant, malicious remarks directed at Potocki (1755–1821) and his dissertation.
The aim of this article is to show that behind the arguments presented in Uwagi… lies a vision of science, as well as culture and art, distinct from Potocki’s.
Firstly, the article introduces the Krakow scholar and explains why he remains relatively unknown. Then, based on an analysis of Uwagi… and comparisons with Potocki’s Critique, it indicates that Trzciński was an advocate of empiricism, a critic of classicism (advocated by Potocki), and a scholar who drew inspiration from sentimentalism and the views of J. J. Rousseau.
True to Enlightenment ideals, Trzciński advocated research into Nature, believing that the natural sciences take precedence over other disciplines because they are useful (by facilitating life, improving the quality of life, and serving the common good). Fine arts and aesthetics, according to Trzciński, are reserved for the few and bring limited benefits to society, primarily providing pleasure and entertainment.
Moreover, the article also raises the issue of Polish scientific and academic language.
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Anna Żuk

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 433-469

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.010.19583
Around 1900, calendars were sometimes the only source of information about the world for people. Pharmaceutical calendars in Polish were published from 1878. Currently, documentation on calendars is modest, although they were very popular publications with a wide range of topics and a high level of editing, even though they have not yet lived up to a precise bibliological definition.
Calendars published in Polish for pharmacists, first in Lviv and then in Warsaw, from 1878 until the outbreak of World War I, were rarely mentioned in scientific papers (the last pharmaceutical calendar from this period was published in 1914).
The aim of this work is to show the pharmacy at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, based on information contained in calendars in the collection of the Museum of Pharmacy of the Jagiellonian University CM in Krakow, since these calendars are a valuable and rich source of knowledge about that period.
The calendars examined in this paper were published between 1878 and 1914 in Lviv and Warsaw. These were the times of Partitions of Poland. The calendars contained scientific articles, manuscripts, lists of pharmacies and pharmacists running Polish pharmacies, advertisements, tables and lists.
The pharmaceutical calendars were an important source of expertise for pharmacists of the time, as access to pharmaceutical textbooks was limited. Pharmaceutical calendars enabled pharmacists to carry out their work in accordance with the law, the advertisements contained in the calendars made it easier to supply pharmacies with necessary products, and the lists of Polish pharmacists and pharmacies operating in different parts of the inexistent country not only enabled contact between them, but also strengthened a sense of patriotism and mobilized them to work tenaciously together for the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry and the rebirth of Poland.
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Lucyna Agnieszka Jankowiak

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 471-505

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.011.19584
Kołtun (Latin: Plica polonica) as a medical and linguistic-cultural phenomenon has already been the topic of many publications. This article concerns a hitherto undescribed aspect in the development of this lexeme, that is its presence in Polish medical terminology, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Kołtun, a word borrowed from Ukrainian in the 16th century in the meaning of disease, immediately acquired the status of a medical term. It is an example of a word which, for non-linguistic reasons (such a disease entity disappeared from official medicine), eventually loses the status of a scientific term. The analysis of materials from various dictionaries (mainly medical ones) and from the medical literature also reveals that kołtun lost the status of a scientific term much later (1st half of the 20th century) than it ceased to be treated as a disease entity or symptom by the scientific community (2nd half of the 19th century).
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Maria Stinia

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 507-526

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.012.19585
The formation of cultural history as an independent scientific discipline in Kraków took place around 1900. Cracovian scholars remained closely connected with the achievements of European thought, but due to the fact that Poland had been stripped of its statehood, they had to define their own goals. In the circles of historians and historians of literature, the focus was on documenting the achievements of civilization in terms of the most important issues of the time, which were considered to be the recognition of the close connection of Polish culture with European culture, a reminder of the most important achievements in the field of literature and the history of educational institutions, especially universities. Thus, the focus was on the achievements of the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. There were also original concepts of the history of civilization by Feliks Koneczny. As a result of research and interdisciplinary cooperation between the Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Jagiellonian University, it was possible to establish the first university chair of cultural history in the Polish lands.
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SCIENCE BEYOND BORDERS

Zenon Roskal, Jacek Rodzeń

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 529-548

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.013.19586
The discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, first theoretically and then observationally, was a 19th-century event that went beyond the interests of the narrow group of astronomers of the time. Indeed, the significance of this event is still a subject of interest among historians and philosophers of science. During the period discussed, natural theology played a special cognitive and social role, forming the basis for arguments based on the new knowledge of nature. This article discusses how the discovery of Neptune was received among the community of 19th-century British and American Protestant theologians, who were always open to scientific research and discoveries.
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PRESENTATIONS AND REVIEWS

Stanisław Domoradzki, Mykhailo Zarichnyi

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 551-571

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.014.19587
The article is devoted to two volumes of Leonhard Euler’s correspondence with mathematicians and other scientists.
The first of these volumes (in two parts) is devoted to correspondence with Christian Goldbach. We consider selected topics from this correspondence reflecting various branches of mathematics and demonstrate, where possible, the connection of the ideas and results presented there with modern mathematical research.
The second of these two volumes contains Euler’s correspondence with scholars associated with the University of Halle. These letters, with a small exception, have less mathematical content, but allow to create an impression of academic life at that time.
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VARIA

Lino Bianco

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 575-607

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.015.19588
The engineering properties of building materials are essential knowledge when it comes to structural design. In 1885, the Crown Agents for the Colonies published a study on the resistance of Malta stone to cracking and crushing, in an attempt to develop stress design tables for local masonry. This article addresses the evolution of geological maps in the nineteenth century and, then, introduces the content of this publication. The geological formations described in the latest map are still used to this day. Finally, the usefulness of these tables in determining the mechanical properties of Maltese stone is discussed. To identify the quality of the stone discussed in this publication, a geological map available at the time, namely that published by Andrew Leith Adams in 1870, which proved to be moderately accurate, was used. The testing procedures applied followed the accepted laboratory practice at the time. A retrospective analysis of the contents of this publication reveals that the results contained some mathematical errors.
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Alan Heiblum Robles

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 609-624

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.016.19589
Fritz Zwicky is best known to the general public for his scientific work. His methodological views are less known and some of his philosophical ideas did not receive favorable reviews. In other reading, however, Zwicky’s principle of flexibility of scientific truth, which asserts that no scientific statement can be absolute but rather subject to refinements or expansions, shows it as a contribution to epistemic pluralism.
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Elena Tverytnykova, Olena Voitiuk

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 625-656

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.017.19590
March 5, 2024 marks the 110th birthday of Volodymyr Hryhorovych Serheiev, an outstanding scientist, chief designer of control systems for strategic combat missiles, launch vehicles, spacecraft and transport modules of orbital complexes, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and an Honored Citizen of Kharkiv. Despite his significant scientific achievements in the field of rocket and space engineering, the silhouette of V. H. Serheiev is hardly reflected in the modern history of science.
Based on representative sources, the article highlights the main achievements of the scientist in the field of dynamics of automatic control systems and the design of rocket and space engineering control systems. The summary of the most prominent space projects is based on the memories of witnesses and direct participants.
The personal qualities of V. H. Serheiev as the head of the Special Design Office No. 692 are noted. The historical retrospective describes technical developments and inventions meant to improve the control systems of intercontinental ballistic missiles R-16, R-16У, R-36, R-36П, R-36 orbital, R-36М, R-36М UTTH, UR-100N, UR-100HU, and R-36М2. At the initiative of V. H. Serheiev, complex stands were developed, which worked non-stop in all modes of operation of the necessary equipment and solved complex scientific and technical problems of creating an on-board digital computer. V. H. Serheiev was the chief control system designer of space launch vehicles Kosmos, Kosmos-2, Cyclone-2, and Cyclone-3 and Tselina series spacecraft. The article features innovative solutions implemented under Serheiev’s leadership during the creation of the Energia launch vehicle, supply vehicles of the Almaz space rocket system and target orbital modules of the Saliut and Myr space stations, and international launch vehicles Dnipro, Rokit and Strila.
The article considers the issues of V. H. Serheiev’s direct participation in the organization of the training system for scien- tific personnel in the relevant specialties at Ukraine’s higher education institutions, as well as the development of international cooperation. It is substantiated that the scientist created one of the leading science and construction schools for the development of control systems for rocket and space technology, which is internationally recognized.
The authors emphasize that V. H. Serheiev devoted a lot of attention to people. At his initiative and with his support, a district named after the founder of aerodynamics, M. Y. Zhukovskyi, was created in Kharkiv for the employees of “Hartron” enter- prise. The district was not far from the enterprise and had well-developed infrastructure, such as kindergartens, schools, shops, a swimming pool and a complex of residential buildings.
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Slava Gerovitch

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 657-683

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.018.19591
In the late 1960s and 70s, due to the Soviet regime’s crackdown on dissident activities and rising anti-Semitic policies, many mathematicians from “undesirable” groups faced discrimination and serious administrative restrictions on work and study at top-ranking official institutions. To overcome such barriers, the mathematical community built extensive social networks around informal or semi-formal study groups and seminars, which formed a parallel social infrastructure for learning and research.
As result, mathematical activity began shifting from public educational and research institutions into private or semi-private settings – family apartments, summer dachas, and countryside walks. For many Soviet mathematicians, instead of being a refuge from work, their home apartments and dachas became their primary working spaces – places where they did their research, met with students, and exchanged ideas with colleagues. At the intersection of work and private life, a tightly knit mathematical community emerged, whose commitment to scholarship went beyond formal duty or required curriculum, a community practicing mathematics as a “way of life.” The parallel social infrastructure functioned in tense interdependency with formal institutions and borrowed some characteristics of the official system it opposed.
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SCIENTIFIC CHRONICLE

Michał Kokowski

Studia Historiae Scientiarum, 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 687-694

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.24.019.19592
The activity of the PAU Commission on the History of Science in the academic year 2023/2024 was discussed.
Lists of scientific meetings, conferences, scientific sessions and seminars as well as new publications were presented.
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Metrics

Statistics, indicators

Total Cites (Scimago)

2022

33
Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP)

2022

0.912
SCImago Journal Rank (SJR)

2022

0.299
CiteScore

2022

0.9
Index Copernicus Value (ICV)

2022

120.98

Information about previous titles

The first volume under this title was issued as volume 15 (2016). The previous volumes were published under the titles:
 
Prace Komisji Historii Nauki PAU – print ISSN: 1731-6715, (from 2013) electronic ISSN: 2392-1749; volumes 9 (2009) – 14 (2015).
 
Prace Komisji Historii Nauki Polskiej Akademii Umiejętności – (from 1999) print ISSN: 1731-6715; volumes 1 (1999) – 8 (2007).
 
 
See also the full list of articles published in the journal from 1999, using: Author Index and Thematic Index.

NotePrace Komisji Historii Medycyny i Nauk Przyrodniczo-Matematycznych / Polska Akademia Umiejętności was the predecessor of this journal. The following  issues  were published: vol. 1 (1939), vol. 2 (1949), vol. 3.1–3.2 (1949), vol. 3.3 (1950), vol. 4.1–4.2 (1952), vol. 3.4 (1953) [already after the activities of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences were suspended in 1952].