Names as Rewards The Ambiguous Role of Eponyms in the History of Science

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/18253911-03402002 Nuncius 34 (2019) 219–235 brill.com/nun Names as Rewards The Ambiguous Role of Eponyms in the History of Science Marco Beretta Università di Bologna marco.beretta@unibo.it Abstract Contemporary scientific terminology is populated by thousands of eponyms, technical terms derived from the names of discoverers and inventors. Since the ultimate goals of scientific language are precision and objectivity, the ever increasing use of eponyms is puzzling. Eponyms betray the inherent contradiction between the supposed neutrality and anonymity of scientific discourse and individual vindication. The systematic use of eponyms has resulted in one of the most effective reward systems in Western science. Moreover, it is interesting to note that eponyms do not represent a recent form of recognition; their genealogy can be traced back to classical antiquity, in particular to the Hellenistic era and as a feature of the scientific lexicon they have undergone surprisingly little change over more than two millennia. In my essay I explore the genealogy of scientific eponyms and their cultural background and I shall focus my attention on classical and early modern science. During classical antiquity the use of eponyms served an important dual purpose, on the one hand paying tribute to those individuals who, by dint of their discoveries and written works, gained eminence in a specific field of enquiry, and on the other hand helping to map the historical geography of a discipline and thus establish its boundaries as well as its future prospects. During the Renaissance, with the rediscovery of the classics and the reaffirmation of the cultural value of science and technology, the coining of eponyms gained unprecedented momentum and proliferated in most disciplines.