The history of science as discourse,the structure of scientific and literary texts: Part II. Some issues posed by computational methodology

Implications of both computer science and the computer are critical for a deeper penetration into the history of science. Building directly on “Formalized Historiography,” which appeared in this Journal last year [14 (1978): 247–263], the present essay contrasts the analysis of history of science discourse by a human reader with that at present or in prospect possible with computer-based ‘intelligent systems.’ Further, related issues are posed as to how scientific the history of science may itself become, and as to the types of transformed understanding that may emerge both of the processes of science and of the history of science. For example, would a connotation-free understanding of the structure of scientific discourse through successive state transitions (paradigm shifts) disclose science itself to be an abstract machine?