Alexander M. Aizenman
Research Topic: The Formal Beginnings of the Scientific Expert Witness in the Courtroom (1782-1833)
The expert witness is unique in that they are permitted, by virtue of their knowledge, to speculate to the judge and jury about the nature and meaning of the agreed facts presented to the court.
My project seeks to untangle and illuminate the neglected beginnings of the expert witness.
Therefore, this project at its heart bridges the customarily separate purview of intellectual history and practice-oriented history of science, as courtroom experts challenge both judicial and scientific standards of truth in a deeply practical sense, disagreeing before frustrated judges who in turn lecture juries.
Grounded in case law, this project radiates outward to encompass laboratory experiments, material culture and even pedagogy. Additionally, the expert witness, employed within an adversarial system of law became in their own right a valuable commodity. Furthermore, as exemplified by patent law, experts in their own right sought to define and actively participated in the burgeoning industrial economy. Resultantly, this project engages with the history of modern industrial capitalism.
Supervisor: Professor Robert Iliffe
Education:
Bachelor of Arts with Honors - History | Queen Mary University of London, 2016-2019
Master of Arts - History of Political Thought and Intellectual History | Queen Mary University of London & University College London, 2019-2020
Master of Philosophy - History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine | University of Cambridge, 2020-2021
Additional classes at University of California Los Angeles
2017: Philosophy of Law: Law and Morality in Democratic Society
2018: Philosophical Analysis of Contemporary Moral Issues
Previous Dissertations Titles:
Francis Bacon and Torture as a Means of Discovery: Reconsidering the “vexation” of nature
The Troubles of Theory Choice in “Post-Positivist” Times: The Treacherous Debates and Turgid “Debates” of “The Third Debate” 1988-1989
Obligations, Expectations and Reality: Economic Agency and Emotional Norms within Marriage Strained by the California Gold Rush
If you have any questions or interest in my current research topic or past titles, feel free to contact me at my listed email.
