Objectivity

We tend to reflexively associate objectivity with truth, as a given of disinterested scientific investigation. But as Lorraine Daston & Peter Galison reveal in this book, it has a history, & their account of its emergence is a fascinating one. The authors date the emergence of scientific objectivity to the late 19th century. Until then, the ideal had always been prized over the actual, & the perfect essence that lay behind the imperfect specimen at hand was held to be teh true object of science. But the advent of techniques such as photography allowed objects to emerge in their full-blown complexity. This book unfolds the history of this shift.