Between normal and pathological: Ludwik Fleck, Georges Canguilhem and the genesis of historical epistemology

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to address, starting from some aspects of the thought of Ludwik Fleck and Georges Canguilhem, the genesis of historical epistemology in the history of science. Specifically, it seeks the contribution of the biological matrix, or the life sciences, presented by these authors, as a central framework in the constitution of historical epistemology. In other words, more than a search of similarities between Fleck and Canguilhem, the main goal is to show how, in formulating independently their ideas of history of science – especially the history of medicine – these authors contributed decisively to the basis of a historical epistemology that will be, throughout the twentieth century, a new thought style for understanding the history of science.