2000 HSS/PSA Program 1 - History of Science Society

HSS Abstracts
peninsule balkanique (Paris, 1918), appeared as a scientific adviser for the
Yugoslavian committee on national borders and territorial issues‚ which
participated at the Paris Peace Conference. Cvijic recommended that the
negotiations on the issue of post-war national borders ought to embody the
natural and social factors developed in his scientific work and asked for a
thorough understanding of topographic, ethnic, economic, and strategic aspects
of the Balkan lands. Inevitably, however, diplomatic priorities began to color
some elements of Cvijic’s proposal: for instance, the Committee failed to give
a good explanation for the territorial demands with regard to Bulgaria and
Hungary, in which cases economy and politics overpowered Cvijic’s holistic
approach. The paper will focus on the role of science in the peace process and
the “expert construction” of early Yugoslavia.
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Karin Tybjerg Department of History of Philosophy of Science, University
of Cambridge, UK
Wonder Making and the Rhetoric of Wonder in Hero of Alexandria
In this paper, I examine the rhetoric of wonder in the work of Hero of Alexandria
(1st century AD). Hero wrote on a broad range of topics including the
construction of catapults, automatic theatres and magic mirrors, and many of
the devices he describes are designed to produce spectacular effects. I shall
demonstrate how Hero employs a rhetoric of wonder, which combines the
status of philosophy with the power of public spectacles. In his Metaphysics,
Aristotle tells us that contrary to the arts, which were often motivated by lowly
practical utility, philosophy originates in wonder, and the findings of
philosophical inquiry cause wonder because of the surprising insights such
inquiry yields. Hero employs a similar rhetoric to invest his theories with the
power of penetrating behind what meets the eyes: ‘We will wonder at things
which, when we have proved them, are contrary to what is manifest to us’. At
the same time, however, he challenges Aristotle’s separation of wonder and
utility. Hero emphasizes that subjects such as pneumatics and catoptrics provide
for utility as well as for wonder and he attempts to blur the distinction between
them. Furthermore, the machines described by Hero show that mechanics not
only explains phenomena that cause wonder, but also controls wondrous
mechanical spectacles. Lastly, Hero’s production of spectacles gains an extra
dimension because they resemble the kind of automata and devices that were
employed at banquets, processions and festivals to demonstrate political and
social power. I argue that, with his rhetoric of wonder, Hero attempts to escape
the banausic image of machine-making by providing philosophical insight,
while maintaining the power associated with the control over useful and
spectacular devices.
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