2001
Yves Gingras a remporté le prix Ivan Slade 2001, accordé chaque deux ans, par la British Society for the History of Science. Ce prix est accompagné d’une bourse de £300.
Le comité de sélection a publié la citation suivante:
The Ivan Slade Prize is awarded by the BSHS biennially for an essay (published or unpublished) making the best critical contribution to the history of science. The 2001 competition has been awarded to Professor Yves Gingras, of the Université du Québec à Montréal for an essay on «The Social and Epistemological Consequences of the Mathematization of Physics». The judges felt that it addressed an important theme in an innovative manner, was well focussed, documented and researched, and was particularly crisp and clear in expression. It offered a critical reevaluation of the unintended consequences of Newton’s conjectures. Professor Gingras argues that prior to Newton everybody could understand a mechanical block universe more or less intuitively. Before Newton’s work, knowledge had always been manifest – simply by reading the Book of Nature all knowledge would be revealed – especially in theistic societies. With Newton’s use of mathematics in his physical theories many people could no longer understand or comprehend the world. That is, for many learned people Newton’s scientific innovations led to an ‘un-understandability’ of the world in which they lived. The judges appreciated the subtlety and insight of the author’s argument, and saw in the paper the methodological originality that the prize is intended to recognize.