Anneliese Maier and the scientific status of the fourteenth-century natural philosophy: an introduction to her conception of the historiography of thought

Abstract

I will introduce the work of Anneliese Maier in order to clarifying her historiographical perspective. On the first hand, I will discuss the genesis of the debate about the scientific status of the 14th century natural philosophy and the role of Maier’s research. Then, I will track her historiographical point of view through her critique to Pierre Duhem, which will take us to study their analysis on the impetus’s concept.

Keywords: Anneliese Maier, historiography, Pierre Duhem, 14th century natural philosophy, impetus.