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Humboldt, Darwin, and romantic resonance in science

Xuansong Liu (UGent)
(2022) STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE. 92. p.196-208
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Abstract
There have been constant and multiple endeavours to argue for Darwin's both epistemic and practical debt to Romanticism. Almost all of these arguments emphasise Darwin's theoretical and aesthetic associations with Alexander von Humboldt, who, from a prevailing Darwin-centred perspective, is in turn usually oversimplified as an undisputed incarnation of Romanticism. The antagonistic view, however, develops nothing other than another stereotype of Humboldt as an anti-idealistic, pro-French, and even highly Anglophone empiricist naturalist, and accordingly rejects the claim of a romantic Darwin in terms of his Humboldtian inheritance. In this paper, I will first portray a balanced figure of Humboldt in terms of both his critical incorporation of romantic philosophy and the idiosyncratic history of his science. Then, I will thematically compare Darwin with Humboldt and other romantics so as to elucidate Darwin's peculiar appropriation of romantic tenets. Three interrelated romantic themes are examined, along with a discrimination of different senses in which the term romanticism is used: a) the literature-science relation, b) the pursuit of the unity in and through multiplicity, and c) the epistemic role of imagination. On the basis of this triadic dissection, both Humboldt's and Darwin's adherence to and departure from romanticism are reevaluated.
Keywords
Romantic science, Humboldt, Darwin

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MLA
Liu, Xuansong. “Humboldt, Darwin, and Romantic Resonance in Science.” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, vol. 92, 2022, pp. 196–208, doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.020.
APA
Liu, X. (2022). Humboldt, Darwin, and romantic resonance in science. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, 92, 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.020
Chicago author-date
Liu, Xuansong. 2022. “Humboldt, Darwin, and Romantic Resonance in Science.” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 92: 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.020.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Liu, Xuansong. 2022. “Humboldt, Darwin, and Romantic Resonance in Science.” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 92: 196–208. doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.020.
Vancouver
1.
Liu X. Humboldt, Darwin, and romantic resonance in science. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE. 2022;92:196–208.
IEEE
[1]
X. Liu, “Humboldt, Darwin, and romantic resonance in science,” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, vol. 92, pp. 196–208, 2022.
@article{8757118,
  abstract     = {{There have been constant and multiple endeavours to argue for Darwin's both epistemic and practical debt to Romanticism. Almost all of these arguments emphasise Darwin's theoretical and aesthetic associations with Alexander von Humboldt, who, from a prevailing Darwin-centred perspective, is in turn usually oversimplified as an undisputed incarnation of Romanticism. The antagonistic view, however, develops nothing other than another stereotype of Humboldt as an anti-idealistic, pro-French, and even highly Anglophone empiricist naturalist, and accordingly rejects the claim of a romantic Darwin in terms of his Humboldtian inheritance. In this paper, I will first portray a balanced figure of Humboldt in terms of both his critical incorporation of romantic philosophy and the idiosyncratic history of his science. Then, I will thematically compare Darwin with Humboldt and other romantics so as to elucidate Darwin's peculiar appropriation of romantic tenets. Three interrelated romantic themes are examined, along with a discrimination of different senses in which the term romanticism is used: a) the literature-science relation, b) the pursuit of the unity in and through multiplicity, and c) the epistemic role of imagination. On the basis of this triadic dissection, both Humboldt's and Darwin's adherence to and departure from romanticism are reevaluated.}},
  author       = {{Liu, Xuansong}},
  issn         = {{0039-3681}},
  journal      = {{STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE}},
  keywords     = {{Romantic science,Humboldt,Darwin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{196--208}},
  title        = {{Humboldt, Darwin, and romantic resonance in science}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.020}},
  volume       = {{92}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}
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