Professor Dr Lorraine J. Daston

Research Priorities: History of science, rationality, moral authority, objectivity
Lorraine J. Daston is an American historian of science, who focuses in particular on European scientific and intellectual history since Early Modern times. Her interests span a broad range of topics, from the history of probability theory and statistics to the common languages of art and science and the formerly popular study of miracles and monsters. Her primary focus concerns various facets of rationality. She analyses how this core scientific concept has developed over time and what it means for contemporary research and society.
Lorraine Daston and her working group have spent many years analysing just what rationality actually is. When, in the past, a navigator guided the course of a ship using the stars, a courtier understood intrigue based on eye contact, or a civil servant organised the taxation system of an empire, it undoubtedly demanded comprehensive knowledge. This knowledge was based on careful observations, considerations, and conclusions. But was this the same kind of rationality required, for example, to demonstrate a mathematical proof or make precise measurements in a laboratory? In other words, do the various forms of rationality share common aspects that go beyond the dividing line between practical knowledge and research, and between the humanities and natural sciences? To answer this question, Lorraine Daston compares ideas of rationality from different historical epochs, as well as from different cultures and scientific disciplines.
A concept that has remained popular up to the present Corresponding Memberclaims that people act rationally when they pursue their own interests. In her book “How Reason Almost Lost Its Mind”, published in 2014, Daston and members of her working group examine the consequences of this attitude during the Cold War. Many intellectuals of the time, as well as military and political actors, hoped to expand the idea of self-serving rationality, which originated in economics, to other areas. Drawing on game theory, attempts were made to assess, for example, how the USA and the USSR would act in various situations to protect their interests. The idea was that it would help develop a workable strategy of nuclear deterrence.
The researcher also documented how scientific concepts and approaches in other areas have changed over the centuries. One such example is the history of scientific observation. Lorraine Daston has examined ancient forms of astronomical observation and medicinal studies, as well as more recent inventions concerning chemical analyses, sociological surveys, and clinical studies. For this purpose she also uses methods such as computer simulations and big data mining.
She uses her studies of historical practices to draw conclusions that are relevant for contemporary scientific and societal problems. For example, she considers the sharp distinction between the humanities and natural sciences, which has become ever more pronounced since the late 19th century in particular, to no longer be appropriate. She also believes the question as to whether moral judgements can be derived from natural phenomena remains as pertinent today as it ever was: the reproach “unnatural mother” stretches right back to ancient times, “natural” human rights are an invention of the Enlightenment, and the “unnatural” cloning of humans could create tomorrow’s headlines.