Abstract
This research programme focuses on the assumptions and methodology of the writing of history of science. History of science is in many respects a flourishing discipline: it currently yields an impressive volume of studies. Systematic reflection about the ways in which history of science may and ought to be written, however, has not kept pace with this growth. This programme will formulate three conceptual problems of historiography of science and propose new solutions to them. First, how should the resistance of the world to scientists? theories be conceptualized in historical accounts of science? Second, is it possible to provide a basis for assessments of past science in terms of adequacy and validity, without relinquishing the sensitivity of the best historiography of science? Third, how is it possible to reconcile the intuition that scientific knowledge can transcend the conditions of its production with the acknowledgement of the contingent and contextual nature of scientific work?