Article ID: CBB683986668

The Meteorology and Medicine of the Romantic Era in Context: Henrik Steffens’ Ideas on Medical Meteorology (1811) and Its Reception by the Prussian State (2019)

unapi

This article introduces to a wider public a hitherto unknown report written by the “Romantic” natural philosopher and mineralogist Henrik Steffens (1773–1845). In the 1811 report Ideas on Medical Meteorology, commissioned by the Prussian Ministry of the Interior via the physician Johann Christian Reil (1759–1813), Steffens argued for a new, “organic” perspective on meteorology focusing on interrelations between the atmosphere and diseases among humans and animals. This new outlook, he argued, was to be realized via a series of observations directed by the state administration. Excerpts from the report are translated and commented upon in order to illuminate their context. These show the report to be part of a significantly older European tradition of inquiry into the connection between changes in the atmosphere and health. A speculative variation of this tradition, for which the general term “Organic Meteorology” is introduced here, was ignited in German-speaking regions through Schelling’s natural philosophy. The report and its context show that the Prussian state was willing to engage with “Romantic” natural philosophy, that Steffens gladly provided expertise for this purpose, and that this was part of a more general effort to professionalize medicine.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB683986668/

Similar Citations

Article Zwier, Karen R.; (2011)
John Dalton's Puzzles: From Meteorology to Chemistry (/isis/citation/CBB001024141/)

Thesis Michael Verderame; (2017)
Science, Politics, and Soul-Making: The Romantic Encounter with Climate Change (/isis/citation/CBB568976028/)

Essay Review Hamm, E. P.; (2000)
Shipwrecked Romanticism? Henrich Steffens and the Career of Naturphilosophie (/isis/citation/CBB000110340/)

Article Schröder, Wilfried; (2001)
Otto Jesse and the Investigation of Noctilucent Clouds 115 Years Ago (/isis/citation/CBB000340308/)

Essay Review Anthony J. Sadar; (2018)
The Historical Heart of Atmospheric Science (/isis/citation/CBB441966658/)

Book Weikinn, Curt; Börngen, Michael; Tetzlaff, Gerd; (2002)
Quellentexte zur Witterungsgeschichte Europas von der Zeitenwende bis zum Jahre 1850 (/isis/citation/CBB000501786/)

Article Carter, Christopher; (2013)
“The Sea Fryseth Not”: Science and The Open Polar Sea in the Nineteenth Century (/isis/citation/CBB001213604/)

Book Bewell, Alan; (1999)
Romanticism and Colonial Disease (/isis/citation/CBB000110497/)

Book Ursula Klein; (2020)
Technoscience in History: Prussia, 1750–1850 (/isis/citation/CBB945116323/)

Book Nilsson, Harald; (2013)
Erik Wallers samling av medicinhistoriska medaljer (/isis/citation/CBB001422187/)

Article Juan Carlos Stagnaro; (2015)
Los aportes de Johann Christian Reil al nacimiento de la psiquiatría (/isis/citation/CBB429880652/)

Authors & Contributors
Juan Carlos Stagnaro
Richard Williams
Sadar, Anthony J.
Verderame, Michael
Éric Chassefière
Nilsson, Harald
Concepts
Meteorology
Atmosphere (Earth)
Romanticism
Disease and diseases
Chemistry
Science and literature
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century
Enlightenment
17th century
Places
Prussia (Germany)
Arctic regions
Poland
Italy
Germany
France
Institutions
University of Halle
Berlin Atmospheric Program
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment