Barbara J. Shapiro traces the surprising genesis of the "fact, ' a
modern concept that, she convincingly demonstrates, originated not
in natural science but in legal discourse. She follows the
concept's evolution and diffusion across a variety of disciplines
in early modern England, examining how the emerging "culture of
fact" shaped the epistemological assumptions of each intellectual
enterprise.
Drawing on an astonishing breadth of research, Shapiro probes
the fact's changing identity from an alleged human action to a
proven natural or human happening. The crucial first step in this
transition occurred in the sixteenth century when English common
law established a definition of fact which relied on eyewitnesses
and testimony. The concept widened to cover natural as well as
human events as a result of developments in news reportage and
travel writing. Only then, Shapiro discovers, did scientific
philosophy adopt the category "fact." With Francis Bacon advocating
more stringent criteria, the witness became a vital component in
scientific observation and experimentation. Shapiro also recounts
how England's preoccupation with the fact influenced
historiography, religion, and literature -- which saw the creation
of a fact-oriented fictional genre, the novel.
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