The role of the individual in the history of science.

A classical example of the concept that individual genius is the driving force of science is found in Ronan (1966):

"Although Copernicus had tried hard to bring to perfection the mathematical side of his theory, he was unable to do so since his own observations were not sufficiently accurate, and in addition he accepted without critical examination all kinds of earlier observations. Yet careful and accurate observations were needed if his ideas were to be properly developed, and it is fortunate that three years after his death one of the world's greatest observational astronomers was born. He was Tycho Brahe, the son of a Danish nobleman."

There can be no doubt that the early 16th century had a need for accurate astronomical observations to solve the developing controversy about the position of Earth and Sun in the universe. But did it have to be Tycho Brahe, who made these observations, and was science thus fortunate that he was born at the right moment?

If it was not Tycho Brahe, it would have been someone else, because the development of science and of society required the observations. Tycho Brahe was in a particularly good position to fill this role, because he was the son of a nobleman and therefore had the means to undertake them. What honours him and secures his place in the history of science is not his fortunate birth but his decision to turn his back on the idle life of the ordinary nobleman and apply his gifted mind to science.

When one reads Ronan's little book it is obvious that the author did not necessarily intend his remark "it is fortunate ..." to be taken literally; it appears to have been made more in the interest of fluid prose. But it springs from a certain attitude to history, which places much weight on individuals and neglects the conditions under which they lived.

Ronan, C. A. (1966) The Ages of Science. George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, London. 271 pp., p. 77.

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