When Historiography Met Epistemology: Sophisticated Histories and Philosophies of Science in French-speaking Countries in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

tefano Bordoni’s new volume addresses the intellectual debates over science, its methods, and tasks, taking place in France over a span of thirty years, roughly from the 1860s to the 1890s. The core aim of the book is to show that in the second half of the nineteenth century decisive steps were taken towards refined and critical views on science. Such “sophisticated” views replaced naïve accounts of science, which are mainly identified with the positivist philosophy of science of Auguste Comte and his epigones. The general thesis that the popularity of orig- inal positivism and the faith in the progressive nature of science were strongly declining by the end of the nineteenth century is not particularly new.1 However, Bordoni gives additional sub- stance to it by shedding light on less well-known corners of these debates, and by unearthing the contributions of neglected thinkers.