Science, error and game in the novel «Disciple» by P. Bourget

In the article the novel «Disciple» (1889) by Paul Bourget is regarded in the context of evolution of the image of the scientist in the 19th century French Literature. The author of the article analyses the main themes and motifs of the work: the place and role of science in society, relations between science and morality, logics of positive knowledge development. On the basis of the main characters complex and controversial relations between the disciple and the teacher are studied. Their relations are based on Error and Game. The research revealed that the latter put in doubt a social status of scientific knowledge and cause insoluble, from a moral point of view, situations, which plunge a person into a worldview crisis.