Pierre Thuillier

Work

The emergence of the scientific discovery

An important part of the writings of Pierre Thuillier is devoted to show how happens, in an effective way, the emergence of the scientific discovery. This discovery never occurs for perfectly rational reasons, contrary to the official discourses on the question. It is on the contrary punctuated interrogations or a priori religious the, political ones, varied cheatings, eccentric theories and various errors. The most illustrative book of this reality is the small illustrated scientist (1980). This collection of articles is first the “traditional one” of the author, who contributed to make known it apart from a circle of initiates. Several reasons explain the impact of this work:

the context of the time played much: many questions arose on the role of science (Biologie, genetic Engineering) or of technology (Nuclear plants…), the debate on the New Right-hand side or the Sociobiologie did the one of the newspapers, of many works of reflection on science for submission to the general public were published in various collections, in particular that where the book of Thuillier appeared.
On another side, the small illustrated scientist is a book designed very well which approaches the scientific practices by “the short period of the spyglass” and which is thus easy access. One discovers there, for example, how Cantor, the mathematician who invented the transfinite numbers, tested the need théologiquement to justify its work, how the professor Leduc believed to be able to create the life starting from osmotic productions, how professor Blondot discovered the ray NR… which unfortunately did not exist or which were many problems raised by with various scientists… the Arche of Noah. The subject of the articles can appear light, but the questions raised by this skew are fundamental.

The book is closed by a long postface entitled “ against the scientism ”, which poses the stakes explicitly and remains one of the fundamental texts of Thuillier. The theses of the author can be summarized simply, of as much better than it does it extremely well itself, in a maintenance published at the time in Libération: “ Yes, I make a point of criticizing the myth of the `pure science'. According to this myth, Science would be transcendent with the other social activities; it would be an absolute construction, objectifies, neutral (…) I prefer for my part a more realistic approach; science is a human construction all the same; it has a history and it is enracinée in a whole social context. ”

Social implications of science

Thuillier always fought the idea that science can be neutral. He lengthily endeavoured to show the social implications of science, in various works:

the industrial adventure and its myths entire is devoted to show how the implementation of novel methods depends on mentalities related to a culture and a time.
In passions of the knowledge , one finds articles on the eugenism, the experimentation on the man, the Nazism and “Jewish science”, on the Féminisme and the Sexisme…
Several of these last topics, and the other similar ones, are found in other collections.

Biology and Darwinism

Darwinism

The Darwinisme is the theory of the evolution of the species; worked out by Charles Darwin, it remains, in an improved form (integrating the contributions of the genetics in particular), the theory comtemporaine of the evolution. The Darwinism is an obviously important topic at Thuillier. As of 1979, it positions like a good expert of the subject, in particular in a series of maintenance on France Culture animated by Emile Christmas, and begun again under the title the Darwinism today delivers of it. P. Thuillier takes part in two discussions with the author:

“Darwin and Darwinism”;
“Then, Darwinism today?” (chapter of conclusion).

This last maintenance appears significant: after discussions with eight scientists often in dissension between them, it is in Thuillier that one addresses oneself to take stock. Not, moreover, that it slices among the involved theses, but it brings a retreat necessary. This retreat is perhaps related to the fact that Thuillier is not interested only in the Darwinism like scientific theory and contemporary “ideology”, but also as a historian. This approach is characteristic in its book devoted to Darwin and Co (1981): half of the articles relates to the ideas of Darwin itself and its contemporaries (Galton, Agassiz). Thuillier also wrote the foreword of a work of Darwin, the descent of the man , at the time of his republication at Complexe.

Sociobiology

The Sociobiologie is a “scientific” theory elaborate as from 1975 by biologists especially étatsuniens of which most known are O. Wilson, R. Dawkins and D. Barash. Without going into the details, this theory is a recovery of some of the ideas of Darwin mixed with the Comportementalisme ( behaviorism in English), the whole structured around gene considered as an autonomous entity. In other words, perhaps clearer, the human being is only the support of its genes. All the behaviors of the man are explained by the “egoistic” interest of the genes which it carries, which only aims at being diffused as much as possible. In short, more social sciences or psychological, more morals or of religion, only the sociobiologists have a say with regard to the human businesses. Obviously, of many authors (with the row of which Marshall Sahlins and Claude Lévi-Strauss) reacted against of such claims. Concerning Pierre Thuillier, it is clear that the theories of the sociobiologists are contrary to his approach of science, by constituting a particular example of this scientism which it fought. Thuillier with criticized much the sociobiology. It devoted a complete book to him, will the biologists seize the power? , like various articles, for example chapter 6 of the Passions of the knowledge , or its article in the State of sciences .

Critic of scientism to that of the Occident

The evolution of Thuillier is visible through in particular the titles and the subtitle of its books. It is seen that one starts from amusing titles to pass to explicit titles and subtitles, and to finish with a rather provocative title. That corresponds to an effective evolution of the collections, with the wire of which the questioning of the rationalist claims is done increasingly strong.

It is thus easier to include/understand the most recent evolution of Thuillier, which led it to criticize not only scientism, but the whole of the claims of the Occident, in particular that which consists with all to apprehend through rationality, and thus to deny what is located outwards (“poetry”, to take again its term). It is what led it to write the great implosion (1995). This test, serious in its matter, is built on a screen of science fiction: it is about a report allegedly written by an work group and published in 2081, which thus treats historical event, which is in our immediate future. And what a event! Nothing less than the implosion Occident. Among the quoted authors, a special place must be held to Professor Dupin, to inspirer of the Work group and having lived in first half of the 21e century, which one can regard as holding the role of spokesperson of the author. The central thesis is simple: the failure of the Occident east before very cultural, and it is on the point of dying because of the blindness which plugs it on its own achievements. Sciences, the technique, the economy, the urban life appear among the principal beliefs which Western civilization proves to be unable to call into question. Thuillier quotes Durkheim: a company is made up “ above all by the idea that it is done itself ”. According to him, the drama of the Western company is that it is done itself a radically false idea. Thuillier insists, in a way surprising with the first access, on the absence of spirituality and poetry in the contemporary occident. He writes: “ if the Occident had exhausted, if it had culturally broken up, it was because it had ended up losing any poetic direction ”. Or: “ Without poets, not of myths; and without myths, not of human society; i.e. not of culture ”. And to describe as poet of the authors such as Durkheim, Novalis or Albert Camus. The author quotes of many “scientists” or “engineers”, of the Middle Ages (Roger Bacon) at our days (Einstein), while passing by the Rebirth (Galileo or Léonard de Vinci), outlining a species of history of the Western Mentalité, through the prism of sciences and technology. He estimates that all started at the 12th century, in the phenomena of urbanization which one noted at that time, with the appearance of a new social category: the “merchant”. Which, associated with “the engineer”, initiated this approach purely materialist of the world which developed in Occident, through in particular science and the economy.

Works

Books

Socrate civil servant. Test on (and against) university philosophy , Robert Laffont, 1969; Complex, 1982.
plays and stakes of science , Robert Laffont, 1972.
the small illustrated scientist , the Threshold, 1980.
will the biologists seize the power? Sociobiology in question, Complex, 1981.
Darwin and Co , Complex, 1981.
the industrial adventure and its myths. Knowledge, techniques and mentalities , Complex, 1982.
knowledge ventriloques. Or how the culture speaks through science , the Threshold, 1983.
Of Archimedes with Einstein. Hidden sides of the scientific invention , Beech, 1988; Deliver pocket, 1996.
passions of the knowledge. Tests on cultural dimensions of science , Beech, 1988.
great implosion. Report/ratio on the collapse of the Occident 1999-2002 , Beech, 1995; “Plural”, Hatchet, 1996.
the revenge of the witches. The irrational one and the scientific thought , Belin, 1997.

Collective works

the Express train goes further with these theorists , Collectif, Laffont, 1973. Discussion with P. Thuillier pages 253 to 275, originally published in the Express train in October 1970.
Darwinism today , Christmas, Emile; , Threshold, 1979, coll Points Sciences. This book takes again a series of talks originally broadcast on France Culture.
the descent of the man and sexual selection , Darwin, Charles; Complex, 1982. P. Thuillier wrote the foreword of this republication.
Research in history of sciences , GILLE, Bertrand; AL-HASSAN, A.Y.; THUILLIER, Pierre; LLOYD, Geoffrey Ernest Richard; BIEZUNSKI, Michel; Threshold, 1983, coll Points Sciences.
the state of sciences and technology , WHITE, Marcel (under the direction of); The Discovery/Maspéro, 1983. P. Thuillier wrote the article entitled “ the sociobiology with the attack of the culture ”, page 120.
Sortir economic imposture , Collectif, Actes of colloqueN° 4, the Horizon, 1999. The contribution of P. Thuillier is on page 11.

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