Andrew Dickson White (7 de novembro de 1832 — 4 de novembro de 1918) foi um historiador e educador americano que fundou a Universidade Cornell e serviu como seu primeiro presidente em quase duas décadas. Ele era conhecido por expandir o escopo dos currículos universitários. Um político, ele atuou como senador estadual em Nova York. Posteriormente, foi nomeado diplomata americano para a Alemanha e a Rússia, entre outras responsabilidades.
Ele foi um dos fundadores da tese do conflito, que afirma que a ciência e a religião estiveram historicamente em conflito, e tentou prová-lo ao longo de aproximadamente 800 páginas em sua História da Guerra da Ciência com a Teologia na Cristandade.ecommons.cornell.edu - pdf
Bibliófilo Ao longo de sua carreira, White acumulou uma coleção de livros considerável. Sua biblioteca era provavelmente mais conhecida por sua extensa seção sobre arquitetura; era então a maior biblioteca de arquitetura dos Estados Unidos. Ele doou todos os 4 000 livros para a Biblioteca da Universidade Cornell com o propósito de ensinar arquitetura, bem como o restante de sua coleção de 30 000 livros.
Tese de conflito Na época da fundação de Cornell, White anunciou que seria "um asilo para a Ciência - onde a verdade deve ser buscada por causa da verdade, não esticada ou cortada exatamente para se adequar à Religião Revelada".Lindberg and Numbers 1986, pp. 2–3 Até então, a maioria das universidades privadas da América tinham sido fundadas como instituições religiosas e geralmente eram focadas nas artes liberais e treinamento religioso.
Em 1869, White deu uma palestra sobre "Os Campos de Batalha da Ciência", na qual argumentou que a história mostrava os resultados negativos resultantes de qualquer tentativa da religião de interferir no progresso da ciência. Ao longo dos próximos 30 anos, ele refinou sua análise, expandindo seus estudos de caso para incluir quase todos os campos da ciência ao longo de toda a história do Cristianismo, mas também estreitando seu alvo da "religião" através do "eclesiasticismo" para a "teologia dogmática".
O resultado final foi a História da Guerra da Ciência com a Teologia na Cristandade (1896), em dois volumes, em que ele afirmou a tese do conflito de que a ciência é contra a teologia dogmática. Inicialmente menos popular do que a História do Conflito entre Religião e Ciência (1874) de John William Draper, o livro de White tornou-se um texto influente no século XIX sobre a relação entre religião e ciência . A tese do conflito de White foi amplamente rejeitada entre os historiadores contemporâneos da ciência.Quotation: "The conflict thesis, at least in its simple form, is now widely perceived as a wholly inadequate intellectual framework within which to construct a sensible and realistic historiography of Western science". (p. 7), Colin A. Russell "The Conflict Thesis", Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction, Gary Ferngren, ed., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ".Quotation: "In the late Victorian period it was common to write about the 'warfare between science and religion' and to presume that the two bodies of culture must always have been in conflict. However, it is a very long time since these attitudes have been held by historians of science". (p. 195) Quotation: "In its traditional forms, the conflict thesis has been largely discredited." (p. 42) A descrição da guerra continua sendo uma visão popular entre os críticos da religião.
Obras selecionadas Outlines of a Course of Lectures on History (1861). Syllabus of Lectures on Modern History (1876). A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, 2 vols. (1896), disponível no Projeto Gutenberg. Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1910). The Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White (1911), disponível no Projeto Gutenberg: Vol. 1, Vol. 2 Fiat Money Inflation in France (1912), disponível no Projeto Gutenberg.
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The Greater Distinctions in Statesmanship. Yale Literary Prize Essay, in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1852. The Diplomatic History of Modern Times. De Forest Prize Oration, in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1853. Qualifications for American Citizenship. Clarke Senior Prize Essay, in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1853. Editorial and other articles in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1852-1853. Glimpses of Universal History. The "New Englander," Vol. XV, p. 398. Care of the Poor in New Haven. A Report to the Authorities of Syracuse, New York. The "Tribune," New York, 1857. Cathedral Builders and Mediaeval Sculptors. An address before the faculty and students of Yale College, 1857. With various additions and revisions between that period and 1885. (Published only by delivery before various university and general audiences.) Jefferson and Slavery. The "Atlantic Monthly," Vol. IX, p. 29. The Statesmanship of Richelieu. The "Atlantic Monthly," Vol. IX, p. 611. The Development and Overthrow of Serfdom in Russia. The "Atlantic Monthly," Vol. X, p. 538. Outlines of Courses of Lectures on History, Mediaeval and Modern, given at the University of Michigan. Various editions, Ann Arbor and Detroit, 1858-1863; another edition, Ithaca, 1872. A Word from the North West; being historical and political statements in response to strictures in the "American Diary" of Dr. W. H. Russell. London, 1862. The same, Syracuse, New York, 1863. A Review of the Governor's Message. Speech in the State Senate, 1864, embracing sundry historical details. Albany, 1864. The Cornell University. Speech in the State Senate. Albany, 1865. Plea for a Health Department in the City of New York. A speech in the New York State Senate. Albany, 1866. The Most Bitter Foe of Nations, and the Way to Its Permanent Overthrow. An address before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Yale College, 1866. New Haven, 1866. Report on the Organization of a University, with historical details based upon the history of advanced education, presented to the trustees of Cornell University, October, 1866. Albany, 1867. Address at the Inauguration of the first President of Cornell University, with historical details regarding university education. Ithaca, 1869. The Historical and part of the Political Details in the Report of the Commission to Santo Domingo in 1871. Washington, 1871. Report to the Trustees of Cornell University on the Establishment of the Sage College for Women, with historical details regarding the education of women in the United States and elsewhere. First edition, Ithaca, 1872. Address to the Students of Cornell University and to the Citizens of Ithaca Oil the Recent Attack upon Mr. Cornell in the legislature. Albany and New York, 1873. The Greater States of Continental Europe (including Italy, six lectures; Spain, three lectures; Austria, four lectures; The Netherlands, sis lectures; Prussia, five lectures; Russia, five lectures; Poland, two lectures; The Turkish Power, three lectures; France, from the Establishment of French Unity in the Fifteenth Century to Richelieu, four lectures). Syllabus prepared for the graduating classes of Cornell University. Ithaca, the University Press, 1874. An Address before the State Agricultural Society, at the Capitol in Albany, on "Scientific and Industrial Education in the United States," giving historical details regarding the development of education in pure and applied science. New York, 1874. Reprint of the same in the "Popular Science Monthly," June, 1874. The Relations of the National and State Governments to Advanced Education. Paper read before the National Educational Association at Detroit, August 5, 1874. Published in "Old and New," Boston, 1874. An Abridged Bibliography of the French Revolution, published as an appendix to O'Connor Morris's "History of the French Revolution." New York, 1875. The Battle-fields of Science. An address delivered at the Cooper Institute, New York, and published in the "New York Tribune," 1875. Paper Money Inflation in France: How it Came; What it Brought; and How it Ended. First edition, New York, 1876; abridged edition published by the New York Society for Political Education, 1882; revised edition with additions, New York, 1896. The Warfare of Science. First American edition, New York, 1876; first English edition, with Prefatory Note by Professor John Tyndall, London, 1876; Swedish translation, with Preface by H. M. Melin, Lund, 1877. Syllabus of Lectures on the General Development of Penal Law; Development and Disuse of Torture in Procedure and in Penalty; Progress of International Law; Origin and Decline of Slavery; etc. Given before the senior class of Cornell University, 1878. (Published only by delivery.) The Provision for Higher Instruction in Subjects bearing directly upon Public Affairs, being one of the Reports of the United States Commissioners to the Paris Universal Exposition of 1878. Washington, 1878. New edition of the same work, with additions and extensions by Professor Herbert B. Adams, Baltimore, 1887. James A. Garfield. Memorial Address. Ithaca, 1881. Do the Spoils belong to the Victor?—embracing historical facts regarding the origin and progress of the "Spoils System." The "North American Review," February, 1882. Prefatory Note to the American translation of Muller, "Political History of Recent Times." New York, 1882. The New Germany, being a paper read before the American Geographical Society at New York. New York, 1882. German translation, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1882. Two addresses at Cleveland, Ohio, October, 1882. First, On a Plan for the Western Reserve University. Second, On the Education of the Freedmen. Ithaca, 1882. Outlines of Lectures on History. Addressed to the students of Cornell University. Part I, "The first Century of Modern History," Ithaca, the University Press, 1883. Part II, "Germany (from the Reformation to the new German Empire)," same place and date. Part III, "France" (including: 1. "France before the Revolution"; 2. "The French Revolution"; 3. "Modern France, including the Third Republic"), same place and date. Speech at the Unveiling of the Portrait of the Honorable Justin S. Morrill. Ithaca, June, 1883. The Message of the Nineteenth Century to the Twentieth. An address delivered before the class of 1853, in the chapel of Yale College, June 26, 1883. New Haven, 1883; second and third editions, New York, 1884. Address at the First Annual Banquet of the Cornell Alumni of Western New York, at Buffalo, April, 1884. What Profession shall I Choose, and how shall I Fit Myself for It? Ithaca, 1884. Address at the Funeral of Edward Lasker. New York, 1884. Address delivered at the Unveiling of the Statue of Benjamin Silliman at Yale College, June 24, 1884. New Haven, 1884; second edition, Ithaca, 1884. Some Practical Influences of German Thought upon the United States. An address delivered at the Centennial Celebration of the German Society of New York, October 4, 1884. Ithaca, 1884. Letter defending the Cornell University from Sundry Sectarian Attacks. Elmira, December 17, 1884. Sundry Important Questions in Higher Education: Elective Studies, University Degrees, University Fellowships and Scholarships; with historical details and illustrations. A paper read at the Conference of the Presidents of the Colleges of the State of New York, at the Twenty-second University Convocation, Albany, 1884. Ithaca, 1885. Studies in General History and the History of Civilization, being a paper read before the American Historical Association at its first public meeting, Saratoga, September 9, 1884. New York and London, 1885. Instruction in the Course of History and Political Science at Cornell University. New York, 1885. Yale College in 1853. "Yale Literary Magazine," February, 1886. The Constitution and American Education, being a speech delivered at the Centennial Banquet, in the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, September 17, 1887. Ithaca, 1887.