Article ID: CBB712710967

‘Humboldtian Science’ and beyond. The Humboldtian way of seeing and knowing in Vienna and in Franz Unger’s and Friedrich Simony’s earth sciences (2020)

unapi

This contribution builds on the notion of ‘Humboldtian Science’, coined by the American historian of science Susan F. Cannon who, in her book "Science in Culture: The Early Victorian Period" (1978), identifed a constellation of practices, strategies and ideas as typical of the research style of British naturalists during the nineteenth century. Cannon’s explanatory model has been widely accepted and for many different reasons. It became attractive as it seemed to break the deadlock of the ambivalence between idealism and empiricism, leading beyond the narrow perspective of academic disciplines. At the same time, it focused on practices and has become a useful tool to analyze the seemingly everyday activities of naturalists in the field. This contribution discusses the potential of this concept at different levels and will also show its limits; insofar as it runs the risk of idealizing Humboldt as an already epigonal figure. It will also analyze Humboldt’s connections to Vienna and his influences on natural sciences by focusing on two examples from the earth sciences, the contributions of the palaeontologist and biologist Franz Unger and the geologist and geographer Friedrich Simony. In so doing, it will widen understanding of the impact of Humboldt’s work in Vienna, detecting not only ‘Humboldtian Science’ but also the Humboldtian way of seeing and knowing where it is not expected: in Unger’s Atlantis theory, his visualization of origins of cultivated plants, and his visualization of deep time, as well as Friedrich Simony’s concept of scientific landscape drawings.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB712710967/

Similar Citations

Chapter Simona Boscani Leoni; Sarah Baumgartner; Meike Knittel; (2021)
Introduction: From Switzerland to the Indies (/isis/citation/CBB610089546/)

Book Eleanor Jones Harvey; Hans-Dieter Sues; (2020)
Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture (/isis/citation/CBB152797652/)

Article Francesco Luzzini; (2017)
Agordo fu fatale. Le ricerche e l’ultimo viaggio di Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839) (/isis/citation/CBB971582027/)

Book Simona Boscani Leoni; Sarah Baumgartner; Meike Knittel; (2021)
Connecting Territories: Exploring People and Nature, 1700–1850 (/isis/citation/CBB246418898/)

Book Belli, Gabriella; Giacomoni, Paola; Ottani Cavina, Anna; (2003)
Montagna: Arte, scienza, mito da Dürer a Warhol (/isis/citation/CBB000741141/)

Chapter Francesco Luzzini; (2022)
Quando si parla d'ambiente (e di scienza, e di storia) (/isis/citation/CBB421013344/)

Book Claudio Greppi; (2021)
Tracce di Humboldt. Osservare, descrivere, misurare (/isis/citation/CBB352822029/)

Article Brevern, Jan von; (2009)
Counting on the Unexpected: Aimé Civiale's Mountain Photography (/isis/citation/CBB000932762/)

Article Alice Kim; Nicole C. Lautze; (2021)
Western explorers and volcanic heat in Hawai’i (/isis/citation/CBB631921295/)

Article Susanne S. Renner; Ulrich Päßler; Pierre Moret; (2023)
“My Reputation is at Stake.” Humboldt's Mountain Plant Geography in the Making (1803–1825) (/isis/citation/CBB292201714/)

Article Meira Gold; (2018)
Ancient Egypt and the Geological Antiquity of Man, 1847–1863 (/isis/citation/CBB995607914/)

Book Lawson, Russell M.; (2012)
Frontier Naturalist: Jean Louis Berlandier and the Exploration of Northern Mexico and Texas (/isis/citation/CBB001202063/)

Book Allen, David Elliston; (2001)
Naturalists and Society: The Culture of Natural History in Britain, 1700-1900 (/isis/citation/CBB000100994/)

Article Martin S. Brook; Susanna Ferrar; (2019)
Hartley Travers Ferrar (1879-1932) and his geological legacy in antarctica, Egypt and New Zealand (/isis/citation/CBB081481552/)

Article Sara Albuquerque; (2022)
A complementary note to Welwitsch's map of travellers in Africa (/isis/citation/CBB292349978/)

Authors & Contributors
Luzzini, Francesco
Meike Knittel
Baumgartner, Sarah
Boscani Leoni, Simona
Harvey, Eleanor Jones
Chetan Singh
Concepts
Field work
Explorers and Exploration
Geology
Natural history
Earth sciences
Naturalists
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century, early
20th century
17th century
Places
Alps (Europe)
Latin America
Italy
Europe
Austro-hungary
Germany
Institutions
Smithsonian American Art Museum
East India Company (English)
Comments

Be the first to comment!

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

Log in or register to comment