Introduction: The Rayonnement of Science and the History and Philosophy of Science in the Belle Époque

Abstract

Before the First World War (1914-1918), several of the richest European countries, with stable parliamentary regimes, lived through decades in which peace was accompanied by a set of transformations generally perceived as clear progress – this period has been called the Belle Époque, and reflects France’s cultural rayonnement. The belief in living in a unique period of progress was based on a set of socio-economic, technical-scientific and cultural developments. In this times occured a process of the emergence and consolidation of new areas of research and chairs in the history and philosophy of science were created at important institutions. The dossier here presented contains several articles that study the development of history and philosophy of science during the Belle Époque, time par excellence of the savants-philosophes.