| This dissertation presents an analysis of the professional life and thought of the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874). In particular, it examines the intersection between Quetelet's social thought -- his proposed science of physique sociale -- and his work to create institutions of science in Belgium and Europe. Not only has this relationship not been recognized by Quetelet's many critics and interpreters, but a focus on these two interdependent aspects of his career helps answer a number of the most important questions concerning nineteenth-century science and social thought. Quetelet was raised in a broad intellectual tradition inspired by the Enlightenment that did not draw distinct boundaries between the arts and science, but the consensus of the eighteenth-century philosophes collapsed near the time he entered the professional scientific ranks of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Unlike many of his friends and colleagues, Quetelet easily adapted to this new form of scientific work, reforming Belgian institutions of science and raising the prestige of his country in Europe. At the same time as he revolutionized a national program of science, he created physique sociale, a science of human activity that attracted harsh criticism, but one that endured much longer than many other nineteenth-century social theories. Through exploring Quetelet's overlooked literary and institutional publications in addition to his more famous writings, this dissertation presents an examination of the one of the most interesting nineteenth-century savants and the history of his two average men. |
