Anton Pannekoek: Ways of Viewing Science and Society, 2019
One of Anton Pannekoek's main scientific projects was to provide a representation of the appearan... more One of Anton Pannekoek's main scientific projects was to provide a representation of the appearance of the Milky Way-an object he believed to be an optical illusion. This paper elucidates how Pannekoek thought the Milky Way appearance was formed by a combination of human psychology and physiology, and why he attributed such significance to it. In doing so, it explores the connections between Pannekoek's scientific methodology and his socialist epistemology. The paper also outlines the various techniques Pannekoek employed in his research. To observe the Milky Way, he used both extrafocal photography and visual observations by himself and others. To represent the results, he combined naturalistic drawings with verbal descriptions, numerical tables, and isophotic diagrams.
Anton Pannekoek (1873–60) was both an influential Marxist and an innovative astronomer. This pape... more Anton Pannekoek (1873–60) was both an influential Marxist and an innovative astronomer. This paper will analyze the various innovative methods that he developed to represent the visual aspect of the Milky Way and the statistical distribution of stars in the galaxy through a framework of epistemic virtues. Doing so will not only emphasize the unique aspects of his astronomical research, but also reveal its connections to his left radical brand of Marxism. A crucial feature of Pannekoek's astronomical method was the active role ascribed to astronomers. They were expected to use their intuitive ability to organize data according to the appearance of the Milky Way, even as they had to avoid the influence of personal experience and theoretical presuppositions about the shape of the system. With this method, Pannekoek produced results that went against the Kapteyn Universe and instead made him the first astronomer in the Netherlands to find supporting evidence for Harlow Shapley's extended galaxy. After exploring Pannekoek's Marxist philosophy, it is argued that both his astronomical method and his interpretation of historical materialism can be seen as strategies developed to make optical use of his particular conception of the human mind.
Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960) was both an innovative astronomer and an influential Marxist. In this... more Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960) was both an innovative astronomer and an influential Marxist. In this article we will investigate both his Milky Way research and Marxist philosophy, with special focus on his ideal scholarly persona and the epistemic virtues he advocated in his research. This focus allows us to place Pannekoek in the larger development of science methodology during the nineteenth and early twentieth century and, most importantly, offers insight into how Pannekoek’s scientific and socialist research were related.
Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960), prominent astronomer and world-renowned socialist theorist, stood a... more Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960), prominent astronomer and world-renowned socialist theorist, stood at the nexus of the revolutions in politics, science and the arts of the early twentieth century. His astronomy was uniquely visual and highly innovative, while his politics were radical. Anton Pannekoek: Ways of Viewing Science and Society collects essays on Pannekoek and his contemporaries at the crossroads of political history, the history of science and art history.
Anton Pannekoek: Ways of Viewing Science and Society, 2019
One of Anton Pannekoek's main scientific projects was to provide a representation of the appearan... more One of Anton Pannekoek's main scientific projects was to provide a representation of the appearance of the Milky Way-an object he believed to be an optical illusion. This paper elucidates how Pannekoek thought the Milky Way appearance was formed by a combination of human psychology and physiology, and why he attributed such significance to it. In doing so, it explores the connections between Pannekoek's scientific methodology and his socialist epistemology. The paper also outlines the various techniques Pannekoek employed in his research. To observe the Milky Way, he used both extrafocal photography and visual observations by himself and others. To represent the results, he combined naturalistic drawings with verbal descriptions, numerical tables, and isophotic diagrams.
Anton Pannekoek (1873–60) was both an influential Marxist and an innovative astronomer. This pape... more Anton Pannekoek (1873–60) was both an influential Marxist and an innovative astronomer. This paper will analyze the various innovative methods that he developed to represent the visual aspect of the Milky Way and the statistical distribution of stars in the galaxy through a framework of epistemic virtues. Doing so will not only emphasize the unique aspects of his astronomical research, but also reveal its connections to his left radical brand of Marxism. A crucial feature of Pannekoek's astronomical method was the active role ascribed to astronomers. They were expected to use their intuitive ability to organize data according to the appearance of the Milky Way, even as they had to avoid the influence of personal experience and theoretical presuppositions about the shape of the system. With this method, Pannekoek produced results that went against the Kapteyn Universe and instead made him the first astronomer in the Netherlands to find supporting evidence for Harlow Shapley's extended galaxy. After exploring Pannekoek's Marxist philosophy, it is argued that both his astronomical method and his interpretation of historical materialism can be seen as strategies developed to make optical use of his particular conception of the human mind.
Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960) was both an innovative astronomer and an influential Marxist. In this... more Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960) was both an innovative astronomer and an influential Marxist. In this article we will investigate both his Milky Way research and Marxist philosophy, with special focus on his ideal scholarly persona and the epistemic virtues he advocated in his research. This focus allows us to place Pannekoek in the larger development of science methodology during the nineteenth and early twentieth century and, most importantly, offers insight into how Pannekoek’s scientific and socialist research were related.
Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960), prominent astronomer and world-renowned socialist theorist, stood a... more Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960), prominent astronomer and world-renowned socialist theorist, stood at the nexus of the revolutions in politics, science and the arts of the early twentieth century. His astronomy was uniquely visual and highly innovative, while his politics were radical. Anton Pannekoek: Ways of Viewing Science and Society collects essays on Pannekoek and his contemporaries at the crossroads of political history, the history of science and art history.
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