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Developmental Years
Pierce Duhem enrolled in the Ecole Normale Supérieure, becoming first in his class at the prestigious institute. He not only received a license in mathematics and physics, but also turned down a position as a chemist-bacteriologist due to his desire for theoretical physics. He presented his thesis for doctorate that was rejected by a panel of scholars for seemingly political reasons. (Ariew 2022) -
The Thesis
As a third year student, Duhem wrote his thesis for physics oh thermodynamic potential - Le potentiel thermodynamique et ses applications à la mécanique chimique et à l’étude des phénomènes électriques (the thermodynamic potential and its applications to chemical mechanics and the study of electrical phenomena). At the time, French scientists were predominantly liberal and anti-clerical while Duhem was openly conservative and deeply religious. (Ariew 2022) -
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Teaching Outside of Paris
Duhem’s thesis refuted the principle of maximum work, a cherished theses of Marcellin Berthelot. It was reported that Berthelot had said: “This young man will never teach in Paris", in which he was correct. Duhem became Maitre de Conférences at the Faculté des Sciences at Lille. While there, he wrote 6 books from hydrodynamics to physical chemistry and ended up moving to Rennes. (Ariew 2022) -
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Bordeaux and Lasting Contributions
Duhem's teaching stint in Rennes lasted a year, moving on to Bordeaux. While he was finally offered to be a candidate at Collège de France, he refused due to not being able to teach theoretical physics. During his time advancing the history of science, Duhem also published "Aim and Structure of Physical Theory", which is known as his greatest contribution to scientific philosophy. (Ariew 2022)
This video relates to an equation he helped develop with Gibbs:
https://youtu.be/utfxPRImBgw