How to Cite

König, Peter: Die ästhetische Artikulation der Natur bei Alexander von Humboldt , in König, Peter and Schlaudt, Oliver (Eds.): Kosmos: Vom Umgang mit der Welt zwischen Ausdruck und Ordnung, Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing, 2023, p. 259–307. https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.857.c15260

Identifiers (Book)

ISBN 978-3-96822-093-2 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-96822-094-9 (Hardcover)

Published

01/12/2023

Authors

Peter König

Die ästhetische Artikulation der Natur bei Alexander von Humboldt

Abstract In his monumental, extremely popular work of old age— Cosmos. A Sketch of the physical description of the universe (1845–1862)Alexander von Humboldt wanted to describe the whole of nature from an objective scientific as well as a subjective aesthetic standpoint. The paper deals with the question of how the uniqueness of this “sketch,” which fluctuates between science and art, can be interpreted. The keywords “popularization of the sciences” and “rhetorical strategy of representation” are only of limited use in characterizing the originality of Humboldt’s work. Instead, the book is—according to a central thesis of this essay— the result, not least, of a confrontation with central ideas of Francis Bacon regarding the pathos of science and the partition of knowledge, and their historical aftermath. Against this background, Humboldt’s concepts of “thinking contemplation” and “poetic description of nature” and, overall, his artistic goals become clearer.

Keywords Alexander von Humboldt; Francis Bacon; thinking contem­plation; poetic description of nature; pathos of transgression; memory; imagination; rationality; daguerreotype; art; science