Ignored intellect: Pierre Duhem

DEC 01, 1966

Historical and personal circumstances blocked the career of this right‐wing, royalist, religious extremist despite a variety of important contributions. His work is now gaining greater recognition.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3047853

Donald G. Miller

THIS YEAR MARKS the 50th anniversary of the death of Pierre Duhem, one of France’s greatest intellects. His work encompasses thermodynamics, physical chemistry, hydrodynamics, elasticity, electricity and magnetism as well as the history and philosophy of science. In his 32 years of scientific activity, he published without collaborators more than 350 papers and 21 books for which a nearly complete bibliography exists. (Some of the work is in many volumes, some in several editions, and some in translation.) His work in the philosophy of science has received continuing attention. His work in the history of science in the middle ages is well known to historians of science.

References

1. Mém. Soc. Sci. Phys. Nat. (Bordeaux) (7), 1, part 2 (1927).
2. P. Duhem, La Théorie Physique, Son Objet et sa Structure (Chevalier et Riviére, Paris, 1906) 450 pp.; 2nd ed., 1914; 3rd ed., 1933.
3. P. Duhem, The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1954), 344 pp.,
translated by P. Wiener; (paper, Atheneum, New York, 1963).
4. P. Duhem, Le Système du Monde: Histoire des Doctrines Cosmologiques de Platon à Copernic (Hermann, Paris) I (1913) 512 pp.,
II (1914) 522 pp.,
III (1915) 549 pp.,
IV (1916) 597 pp.,
V (1917) 596 pp.,
VI (1954) 739 pp.,
VII (1956) 644 pp.,
VIII (1958) 512 pp.,
IX (1958) 442 pp.,
X (1959) 528 pp.
5. P. Duhem, Etudes sur Léonard de Vinci, Ceux qu’il a lus et ceux qui l’ont lu (Hermann, Paris) I (1906) 355 pp.,
II (1909) 474 pp.,
III (1913) 610 pp.
6. P. Duhem, Traité d’Energétique, (Gauthier‐Villars, Paris, 1911), 2 volumes of 528 pp. and 504 pp.
7. P. Duhem, L’Evolution de la Mécanique (Joanin, Paris, 1903) 348 pp;
taken from Rev. Gén. Sci. 14, 63, 119171, 247299, 352 (1903).
8. P. Duhem, Les Origines de la Statique (Hermann, Paris, 1905–06), 2 volumes of 360 and 364 pp;
taken from Rev. Quest. Scient., 4, 462 (1903);
5, 560 (1904);
6, 9, 394 (1904);
7, 96, 462 (1905);
8, 115, 508 (1905),
9, 115, 383 (1906);
10, 65 (1906).
9. P. Duhem, “Les Théories de la Chaleur,” Rev. Deux Mondes 129, 869 (1895);
P. Duhem, 130, 380, 851 (1895).
10. (a) P. Duhem, Traité Elémentaire de Mécanique Chimique (Hermann, Paris, 1897–99), 4 volumes of 299, 378, 380, and 381 pp.;
(b) J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry (Macmillan, London, 1964), vol. 4, p. 616.
11. P. Duhem, J. de Math. pures et appliq., 8, 269 (1892);
P. Duhem, 9, 293 (1893);
P. Duhem, 10, 203 (1894).
12. P. Duhem, Ann. Ecole Normale, 10, 183 (1893).
13. P. Duhem, Recherches sur l’Hydrodynamique (Gauthier‐Villars, Paris) 1° Série (1903), 212 pp.;
2° Série, (1904), 153 pp.;
new edition (including seven notes from Comptcs rendus, Publications Scientifiques et Techniques du Ministère de l’Air, Paris, 1961), 396 pp.
14. P. Duhem, Recherches sur l’Elasticité, (Gauthier‐Villars, Paris, 1906) 218 pp.
15. P. Duhem, Les Théories Electriques de J. C. Maxwell: Etude Historique et Critique (Hermann, Paris, 1902) 228 pp.;
taken from Ann. Soc. Sci. (Bruxelles), part II, Mém., 24, 339 (1900);
25, 1, 293 (1901).
16. P. Duhem, Théorie Thermodynamique de la Viscosilé, du Frottement, et des Faux Equilibres Chimiques (Hermann, Paris, 1896), 210 pp.
17. C. Truesdell, J. Rat. Mech. Anal. 1, 125 (1952);
C. Truesdell, 2, 593 (1953);
C. Truesdell, R. Toupin, “The Classical Field Theories” in Handbuch der Physik, (Springer‐Verlag, Berlin, 1960), vol. III/1.
18. P. Duhem, Le Potentiel Thermodynamique et ses Applications á la Mécanique Chimique et à la Théorie des Phénomènes Electriques (Hermann, Paris, 1886), 248 pp.
19. P. Duhem, “Thermochimie, á propos d’un livre récent de M. Marcelin Berthelot,” Rev. Quest. Sci. 42, 361 (1897).
20. W. Ostwald, J. Chem. Soc. (London) 85, 506 (1904).
21. P. Humbert, Pierre Duhem (Bloud et Gay, Paris, 1932) 147 pp.
22. E. Jordan, Ann. Assoc. Anciens Elèves Ecole Norm. Sup. 158 (1917);
Mém. Soc. Sci. Phys. Nat. (7), 1, part 1 (1917).
23. E. Picard, La Vie et l’Oeuvre de Pierre Duhem, Gauthier‐Villars, Paris, 1921), 44 pp.
24. Hélène Pierre‐Duhcm, Un Savant Français, Pierre Duhem (Plon, Paris, 1936).
25. L. de Broglie, foreword to ref. 3.

More about the Authors

Donald G. Miller. Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Livermore.