Programska knjižica - Hrvatsko filozofsko društvo

slobodne rastrošnosti (koja je, gotovo neprikladno, toliko pridonijela znanstvenoj
kvaliteti Pomrčinā), kao i u kontekstu sudara između poslušnosti Redu i
kozmopolitskog duha, znanstvene izolacije i bijega u putovanja, ali i drugih
nekih suprotnosti. Pri tome je teško razlučiti što je čemu razlog, a što posljedica.
Pogotovo kada se radi o Boškovićevoj osobnosti i komunikaciji, njegovoj naravi,
često melankoličnoj, nepovjerljivoj i ponekad silovitoj, a s druge strane ekstrovertiranoj,
vještoj komunikaciji i njegovu briljiranju u visokim društvima.
Ključne riječi: Ruđer Bošković, znanstvena komunikacija, De Solis ac Lunae defectibus
RUĐER BOŠKOVIĆ AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
While for the novelist D. H. Lawrence the revealing and explanatory nature
of science prevents us from enjoying art in nature, for Ruđer Bošković
science and art are complementary. Croatian intellectuals of his day often used
poetry or new genres to express their ideas and communicate with the students
but also with the broader public. Bošković dedicated his epic De Solis ac Lunae
defectibus (On the eclipses of the Sun and Moon) to the Royal Society of
London, during the procedure of his election for the member of this respectable
academy.
His epic De Solis ac Lunae defectibus has all the qualities of science communication
in the modern sense of the term. It is didactive, but at the same time
informative and inspiring, the provisional character of scientific knowledge
allowing questioning and discussion.
It is important on several levels of communicating science to the broader
public, with an emphasis on three criteria:
1. comprehension, which is achieved on two different levels: in the verses
and in the notes;
2. an attempt to connect unfamiliar, unknown and complex ideas with the
familiar concepts;
3. in dedications and epigrams addressed to those who support his work.
In Bošković’s time, the popularization of science was a privilege of the
high society circles. Here we will discuss Bošković and science communication
in the context of the clash between religious modesty and the British
liberal ostentation (which, almost inappropriately, contributed greatly to the
scientific relevance of his epic), also in the context of his commitment to the
Jesuit order on the one hand and his cosmopolitan spirit on the other, scientific
isolation and the escape in his travelling, as well as in some other contrasts.
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