Georges Canguilhem's Perspective on Anthropomorphism in the Sciences

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of French philosopher Georges Canguilhem on anthropomorphism. Canguilhem accepted Gaston Bachelard's thesis of epistemological rupture. However, unlike Bachelard, who focused on the process of knowledge formation after this rupture, Canguilhem concentrated on the relationship between the pre- and post-rupture phases. Anthropomorphism is one of these relationships. Canguilhem acknowledged that anthropomorphism is an obstacle to the formation of knowledge, yet he argued that, as living beings, human scientists inevitably commit anthropomorphic errors. While this presents challenges for the pursuit of truth in science, the linguistic constraints often obscure the inherent discord between its purpose and error. Nonetheless, instances in the history of science reveal an awareness of this discord and attempts to address it. Analyzing these cases demonstrates that human scientists justify their pursuit of infinite truth as living beings.