LUDWIK FLECK

BIRTH AND DEATH

Birth: 7/11/1896     Death: 6/6/1961

OCCUPATION

scientist

BIOGRAPHY SUMMARY

Ludwik Fleck was a Polish, Jewish, and Israeli physician and biologist who did important work in epidemic typhus in Lwów, Poland, with Rudolf Weigl and in the 1930s developed the concepts of Denkstil and Denkkollektiv.

NOTABLE WORK

WHY THEY MATTER

Ludwik Fleck was intellectually unique for his development of the concepts of Denkstil (thought style) and Denkkollektiv (thought collective) in the 1930s. These ideas revolutionized the understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed collectively within specific cultural and social contexts, influencing later philosophy of science and sociology of knowledge. Additionally, his work in epidemic typhus demonstrated his interdisciplinary approach, blending medical practice with philosophical inquiry.

FAMOUS QUOTE

At the present time we are so fortunate as to witness the spectacle of the birth, the creation, of a new style ofthinking... Sooner or later much will change: the law ofcausality, the concepts ofobjectivityandsubjectivity. Something else will be demanded from scientific solutions and different problems will be regarded as important. Much that has been proven will be found unproven, and much of what was never proven will turn out to be superfluous.Ludwik Fleck (1929), as cited in: Sady, Wojciech, Ludwik Fleck,The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Winter 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

WIKIPEDIA PAGE

Wikipedia Page