"Most history of science publications narrowly focus on specific periods in human history, or particular disciplines of scientific discovery, or small sets of scientists and philosophers. However there is a view that history of science can be better understood against the background of a history of knowledge including not only theoretical but also intuitive and practical knowledge. This can be further broadened by including cognitive, material and social dimensions of knowledge. Studying how knowledge structures are formed and evolve as knowledge spreads should further enrich our understanding of development and progress of science and technology."

Jürgen Renn presents his new book The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science for the Anthropocene in this article and podcast forBridging the Gaps—and highlights a new way of thinking about the history of science and technology that offers a grand narrative of human history in which knowledge serves as a critical factor of cultural evolution.