ABSTRACT
I n the preceding chapter, we approached the cases of Semon and other neglected scientists by exploring their work and placing its neglect in a broad conceptual framework. We attempted to gain some insight into why their ideas were temporarily ignored by the scientific community, and also tried to arrive at some general formulations concerning the factors that underlie the recognition of ideas in science. We have not yet, however, systematically considered one of the most absorbing components of these cases: The personal struggle that accompanies the rejection and long neglect of a scientific contribution. The names of Mayer, Tswett, Waterston, and others are not just curiosities retrieved from the backwater of history; they are the names of human beings whose intellectual and social isolation left them with deep psychological scars. Our explorations of Semon's correspondence in Part I of the book provided some insights into the sorts of difficulties faced by a scientist working in isolation. In the present chapter, I attempt to make sense of the psychological plights of Semon and other isolated scientists in the context of more general ideas about the importance of recognition and emotion in the pursuit of science.
