Ur nordisk kulturhistoria : XVIII Nordiska historikermötet Jyväskylä 1981. Mötesrapport 2, Den kritiska tanken i vetenskapen på 1700- och 1800-talen

Abstract

During this period the Scandinavian countires were culturally very much in the periphery of Europe. The awakening of critical thought was in Scandinavia postponed, compared with the leading centres of Europe. It gained more ground during the 18th century, when several Scandinavians already played an active part in the international progress of science. Ever since, a critical thinking has been characteristic for Scandinavian research, in humanities as well as in scineces. The grand tides of European thinking have reached Scandinavia from outside and only been modified in the cultural and historical environments. This has often lead to a critical kind of acceptance right from the beginnig. Extremist thoughts has seldom gained much ground. New scientific waves like the Darwinism have been rather readily accepted even by the churcnes, and they have not lead to very widespread conflicts. The centralization of the state, the relative lateness of industrialization and a lack of great accumulation of wealth may have contributed to this ideological and social stability. On the whole, the Scandinavian scene has been characterized by strong ties between the public power and by a certain pragmatic convergence of interests. On the other hand, a public benefit, whether it be spiritual, economic or technological, is generally expected from the progress of science.