About
Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962) was a French philosopher, known for his work on the philosophy of science and poetics. After a career as a postal clerk, he earned a doctorate from the Sorbonne in 1927. He taught at Dijon and then held the chair of history and philosophy of sciences at the Sorbonne from 1940 to 1954. In his epistemological works, he introduced the concepts of epistemological obstacle and epistemological break, emphasizing the discontinuous nature of scientific progress. In parallel, he developed a poetics of the elements, exploring material imagination through fire, water, space, and reverie. His work, especially The Poetics of Space, has influenced many thinkers and architects.
* 1884-06-27 — † 1962-10-16
Major works
- Le nouvel esprit scientifique (1934)essay
- La formation de l'esprit scientifique (1938)essay
- La psychanalyse du feu (1938)essay
- La poétique de l'espace (1957)essay
- La poétique de la rêverie (1960)essay
Key milestones
- 1927Earned his doctorate from the Sorbonne with a thesis on the propagation of heat in solids.
- 1940Appointed to the Chair of History and Philosophy of Sciences at the Sorbonne, succeeding Abel Rey.
- 1961Received the Grand Prix national des lettres.
Themes
epistemologymaterial imaginationpoetics of spacereverieepistemological break
Sources: id.loc.gov · britannica.com · catalogue.bnf.fr