Philosophy and History of Science
Philosophy and History of Science is a research topic within History and Philosophy of Science. Science Explorer counts 31k research works in it since 1950. 31.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the concept of mechanistic explanation in scientific discovery and evolution, encompassing topics such as evolutionary synthesis, causation, genetic information, scientific models, social mechanisms, and the philosophy of science. It delves into the intricacies of biological explanation, genetic code, and developmental biology.
- Mechanistic Explanation
- Evolutionary Synthesis
- Causation
- Genetic Information
- Scientific Models
- Social Mechanisms
- Philosophy of Science
- Biological Explanation
- Genetic Code
- Developmental Biology
- Research works
- 31k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 9.9k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 31.5% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +2% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Philosophy and History of Science research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (1k and 399 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 1k works
- 2 United Kingdom 399 works
- 3 Germany 289 works
- 4 Italy 179 works
- 5 France 161 works
- 6 Canada 130 works
- 7 Brazil 115 works
- 8 Spain 112 works
- 9 Netherlands 90 works
- 10 Australia 84 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Philosophy and History of Science research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Oxford publishes the most Philosophy and History of Science research, followed by University of Vienna and University of Pittsburgh.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 46 works
- 2 University of ViennaAustria 29 works
- 3 University of PittsburghUnited States 29 works
- 4 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom 27 works
- 5 University of BristolUnited Kingdom 21 works
- 6 Aarhus UniversityDenmark 19 works
- 7 University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom 19 works
- 8 UCLouvainBelgium 18 works
- 9 University of GenevaSwitzerland 18 works
- 10 Durham UniversityUnited Kingdom 18 works
Who are the leading researchers in Philosophy and History of Science?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Philosophy and History of Science include Robert J. Sternberg and Herbert A. Simon.
- 1 Robert J. Sternberg United States 4.4k citations
- 2 Herbert A. Simon United States 4.2k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Philosophy and History of Science research done?
The largest centres of Philosophy and History of Science research in 2022–2025 are Paris (France), London (United Kingdom), New York (United States) and Oxford (United Kingdom).
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Paris France 78 works
- 2 London United Kingdom 75 works
- 3 New York United States 52 works
- 4 Oxford United Kingdom 49 works
- 5 Vienna Austria 39 works
- 6 Pittsburgh United States 35 works
- 7 Berlin Germany 32 works
- 8 Madrid Spain 32 works
- 9 Buenos Aires Argentina 31 works
- 10 Munich Germany 31 works
Where is the best place to study Philosophy and History of Science?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Tartu, Stockholm University and University of Vienna score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of TartuEstonia | 71.0 | 60.0% | 12.9× | 9 | +75.2% |
| 2 | Stockholm UniversitySweden | 68.4 | 51.8% | 12.1× | 14 | +34.5% |
| 3 | University of ViennaAustria | 67.8 | 29.3% | 17.1× | 29 | +105.5% |
| 4 | University of OxfordUnited Kingdom | 66.6 | 28.5% | 10.3× | 46 | +7.6% |
| 5 | University of PittsburghUnited States | 63.3 | 38.3% | 10.8× | 28 | +19.9% |
| 6 | University of California, IrvineUnited States | 60.5 | 44.6% | 8.8× | 18 | +50.3% |
| 7 | University of BristolUnited Kingdom | 60.4 | 38.3% | 11.2× | 21 | -8.7% |
| 8 | University of GenevaSwitzerland | 60.3 | 25.0% | 15.4× | 18 | +95.5% |
| 9 | Aarhus UniversityDenmark | 58.9 | 42.2% | 7.6× | 19 | +23.1% |
| 10 | Princeton UniversityUnited States | 58.9 | 43.0% | 10.7× | 16 | -13.6% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Philosophy and History of Science research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are Philosophy and History of Science.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.