This essay explores how Davy fashioned himself as, what he called in his poetry, a “true philosopher.” He defined the “true philosopher” as someone who eschewed monetary gain for his scientific work, preferring instead to give knowledge freely for the public good, and as someone working at a higher level than the mere experimentalist. Specifically, Davy presented himself as using the method of analogy to reach his discoveries and emphasised that he understood the “principle” behind his findings. He portrayed himself as one who perceived analogies because he had a wider perspective on the world than many others in his society. The poem in which he describes the “true philosopher” offers us Davy’s private view of this character; the essay then demonstrates how Davy attempted to depict his own character in this way during critical moments in his career.

中文翻译：

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汉弗莱·戴维：类比、优先权和“真正的哲学家”

这篇文章探讨了戴维如何将自己塑造成他在诗歌中所说的“真正的哲学家”。他将“真正的哲学家”定义为那些为了他的科学工作而避免金钱收益的人，而是宁愿为公共利益免费提供知识，并且是在比单纯的实验者更高的水平上工作的人。具体来说，戴维将自己描述为使用类比的方法来得出他的发现，并强调他理解他的发现背后的“原理”。他将自己描绘成一个能感知类比的人，因为他对世界的看法比他所在社会的许多其他人更广泛。他描述“真正的哲学家”的诗为我们提供了戴维对这个角色的个人看法；