Modern science in Cuba at the beginning of the nineteenth century: sources of Fisica by Felix Varela

Abstract

An understanding of the process of the development of scientific thought requires the utilization of specific historical material enabling elucidation of the conditions in which theories became accepted, of the factors that helped establish a new world view, and of the ideas and authors with the greatest impact on the introduction of new theories. The study of the introduction of works by the best known authors in the field of physics at the beginning of the nineteenth century thus leads to an understanding and evaluation of the importance of the spread of the scientific ideas of those authors in a given country in comparison with the rest of the scientific community. The author of the present article studied the sources of Física by Félix Várela in order to contribute to clarification of the state of the teaching of physics in Cuba during the first half of the nineteenth century.