Title: G.W. Leibniz and scientific societies

Authors: Markku Roinila

Addresses: Department of Philosophy, University of Helsinki, Pl 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 20 A) 00014, Finland

Abstract: The famous philosopher Leibniz (1646-1716) was also active in the (cultural) politics of his time. His interest in forming scientific societies never waned and his efforts led to the founding of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. He also played a part in the founding of the Dresden Academy of Science and the St. Petersburg Academy of Science. Though Leibniz|s models for the scientific society were the Royal Society and the Royal Science Academy of France, his pansophistic vision of scientific cooperation sometimes took on utopian dimensions. In this paper, I will present Leibniz|s ideas of scientific cooperation as a kind of religious activity and discuss his various schemes for the founding of such scientific societies.

Keywords: scientific societies; Berlin Academy of Sciences; scientific cooperation; Leibniz; Germany.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2009.022683

International Journal of Technology Management, 2009 Vol.46 No.1/2, pp.165 - 179

Published online: 25 Jan 2009 *

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