Engberts Christiaan. Scholarly Virtues in Nineteenth-Century Sciences and Humanities: Loyalty and Independence Entangled

Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. — 228 p. — ISBN 3030845656, ISBN 9783030845650.Reflecting a growing interest in the history of knowledge, this book explores the importance of scholarly virtues during the late nineteenth century. The practice of science is moulded on notions of scholarly values, such as diligence, impartiality, meticulousness and patience, but here, the author focuses on the virtues of collegial loyalty and critical independence. By analysing how virtues were reflected in day-to-day scholarly work, and examining the possibility that these virtues may have come into conflict with each other, this book sheds light on what is often described as ‘the moral economy of scholarship,’ a metaphor which draws attention to the changeability of the expectations raised by virtue. Highlighting the pre-eminence and exemplary nature of German scholarship during the nineteenth century, the author provides a detailed analysis of four evaluative practices used by scholars across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences in a number of German universities.This allows a nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between collegial loyalty and critical independence in the academic working environment, and draws comparisons across varying disciplines. A welcome contribution to a growing field of research, this book provides a comparative and transdisciplinary overview of scholarly virtues and will be of interest to those researching the history of science and the humanities.The (in)gratitude of Hugo Münsterberg
Loyalty and Independence
Scholarly Virtues and the History of Scholarship
Moral Economies of Scholarship
Science and Scholarship in Germany and Abroad
Three Disciplines
The Protagonists and Their Networks
A Quick Look Ahead
A Helping Hand: Private Evaluation in Scholarly Correspondence
Letter Writing and the History of Science
The Friendship between Nöldeke and De Goeje
Discussing the Annals of al-Ṭabarı̄
The Minutiae of Arabic
Clinical Testing as Evaluative Practice
Testing the Diphtheria Blood Serum
Evaluating Texts Versus Evaluation Serums
Working with Wundt
Collaborative Work and Private Correspondence
Balancing Loyalty and Independence in Private Correspondence
The Editorial Balancing Act: Editors, Authors, Publishers, and Audiences
Scholarly Journals Before Peer Review
Wundt’s Early Editorial Experiences
Editing in Total Independence
Fleischer: An Independent Team Player
August Fischer’s Fragile Authority
A Review Journal in a Commercial Environment
Zarncke’s Continuous Balancing Act
Editors, Publishers, Authors, and Audiences
A Review of Reviews: Criticism and Community Formation in Book Reviews
The Genre of the Book Review
Assessing Different Disciplines
Nöldeke on Religion and Nationality
Wundt on Religion and Nationality
Praising and Criticizing Books
Praising and Criticizing Authors
Addressing a Community of Scholars
Loyalty and Independence in Book Reviews
State and Scholarship: The Politics of Professorial Appointments
Peer Review and Grant Review
The Althoff System
Althoff’s Intimate Knowledge
A Messy Breslau Faculty
A Saxon Paediatrician
Althoff’s Full Force
Professorship and Moral Responsibility
Schools of Thought
Loyalty and Independence in the Althoff System
A Moral Economy of Scholarship: The Balance Between Loyalty and Independence
Moral Economies
Friends as Colleagues
Students and Subordinates
The Peer Group and the Reputation of the Discipline
Institutions I: Scholarly Journals
Institutions II: Universities, Faculties, and Research Institutes
Institutions III: Non-academic Institutions
The Dynamics and Complexity of Moral Economies
Epilogue: Loyalty and Independence Today
The Past and the Present
A Century of Change?
Loyalty and Independence in the Twenty-First Century
Index