Crist1996

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Crist1996
BibType ARTICLE
Key Crist1996
Author(s) Eileen Crist
Title Naturalists' portrayals of animal life: engaging the Verstehen approach
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Animals, Animal Life, Naturalists
Publisher
Year 1996
Language
City
Month
Journal Social Studies of Science
Volume 26
Number 4
Pages 799–838
URL Link
DOI 10.1177/030631296026004004
ISBN
Organization
Institution
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Howpublished
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Abstract

This paper is an investigation into naturalists' understanding of animal life, focusing specifically on the turn-of-the-century naturalists George and Elizabeth Peckham, and Jean Henri Fabre. It argues that these authors apply what social scientists call the `Verstehen' method to the study of animals, in that they approach animal action as evidencing a subjective, experiential perspective. The presuppositions and forms of evidencing and reasoning of the naturalist genre are analyzed, and their effects on the portrayal of animals are elucidated, by looking closely at the particular authors. The paper ends by examining the connection between the form of knowledge of animal life embedded in naturalist studies, and the question of anthropomorphism.

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