From Postal Scale to Psychological Apparatus

What is it about?

This paper deals with the reconstruction and replication of a nineteenth-century experiment in sensory discrimination, carried out by classical pragmatist Charles S. Peirce and by psychologist Josef Jastrow. The task of re-building a disappeared instrument involved the re-discovery of networks of experimental psychologists and of their influence, while its operation involved an in-depth engagement with the authors’ methods and practices. The article contributes to our understanding of the history of psychology, philosophy of measurement, and to the relevance of instrument reconstruction for contemporary research in the history and philosophy of science.

Featured Image