Broadening shared knowledge within the specialized community in the 17th century

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the different methods that the specialized discourse community of the 17th century used to spread the news about the many activities then taking place and the discoveries being made by its members. It will be shown that the communicative role of early scientists was not limited to the fulfilment of goals linked to socialization and solidarity, but also included the reform of existing means of discourse and the development of new ones. Indeed, the propagation of discourse conveying new information about specialized facts or events to a social group sharing intellectual and professional interests implied the adoption of various textual forms, each with its own specific pragmatic aim so as to carry out different communicative functions and meet the expectations of a large number of non-homogenous addressees.