Positivism, Science and ‘The Scientists’ in Porfirian Mexico

This innovative monograph isof major significance for not only students and academics undertaking researchon the history of Mexico during the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, but also scholars specializing in the history ofideas, philosophy and science. Unlike previous discussions of positivism inLatin America, this book presents a detailed analysis of the English thinker,Herbert Spencer’s original works as a necessary gateway into the discussion ofthe thinking of 'The Scientists'. Its principal purpose is to revisit theinfluential thesis of Leopoldo Zea which proposed that 'The Scientists'throughout this period were Spencerian positivists.

 

This book offers a revisionistanalysis of the original papers of 'The Scientists', Francisco Bulnes and JustoSierra, as well as their political and philosophical ideas and activities. Thisanalysis demonstrates that their eclectic discourses used the ideas of theAmerican Social Darwinists, and those from Spencer, Darwin, August Comte, andother European writers, concluding that 'The Scientists' lacked a clear leaderand had an ambivalent relationship with Díaz. Itinterprets 'The Scientists' not as ‘heroes’ or ‘villains’, but as menstruggling to appropriate European philosophical advances into their quest tomodernise Mexico.