Erasmian Science

This paper serves as introduction to a special issue of the Journal of Interdisciplinary History of Ideas, that in turn takes its origin from a call for papers on the theme: “Erasmian Science: The Influence of Erasmus of Rotterdam on Early-Modern Science”. Is there any disciplinary field or scholarly context of the past that can be conveniently indicated as (an) ‘Erasmian Science’? Can this expression, as some sort of historiographic construct and instrument, direct the investigation of historians of scientific culture to realms and relationships that have so far escaped their consideration? This are the challenges we are putting forward in this Introduction, offering some background and suggestions as to the feasibility of more thorough studies of ‘Erasmian Science’.