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Humboldtian science refers to a movement in science in the 19th century closely connected to the work and writings of German scientist, naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. It maintained a certain ethics of precision and observation, which allowed to combine scientific field work with the age of Romanticism sensitivity and aesthetic ideals 〔Böhme, Hartmut: Ästhetische Wissenschaft, in: Matices, Nr. 23, 1999, S. 37-41〕 and, as Romanticism in science, was rather popular in the 19th century. The term was coined and examined by Michael Dettelbach and Susan Faye Cannon.〔Cannon, Susan Faye: Science in Culture: The Early Victorian Period, New York 1978〕〔Dettelbach, Michael: Humboldtian Science, in: Jardine, N./Secord, J./Sparry, E. C.(ed): Cultures of Natural History, Cambridge 1996 〕 Humboldt's example and writings allowed him to reach out beyond the academic community with his natural history and address a wider audience with popular science aspects. It has supplanted the elder Baconian method related as well to a single person, Francis Bacon. ==Brief biography== (詳細はBerlin in 1769 and worked as a Prussian mining official in the 1790s until 1797 when he quit and began collecting scientific knowledge and equipment.〔Jardine et al., ''Cultures of Natural History'', p. 288〕 His extensive wealth aided his infatuation with the spirit of Romanticism; he amassed an extensive collection of scientific instruments and tools as well as a sizeable library. In 1799 Humboldt, under the protection of King Charles IV of Spain, left for South America and New Spain, toting all of his tools and books.〔 The purpose of the voyage was steeped in Romanticism; Humboldt intended to investigate how the forces of nature interact with one another and find out about the unity of nature. Humboldt returned to Europe in 1804 and was acclaimed as a public hero. The details and findings of Humboldt’s journey were published in his ''Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equatorial Regions of the New Continent'' (30 volumes). This ''Personal Narrative'' was taken by Charles Darwin on his famous voyage on H.M.S Beagle.〔Cannon, ''Science in Culture'', p. 86〕 Humboldt spent the rest of his life mainly in Europe, although he did embark on a short expedition to Siberia and the Russian steppes in 1829. Humboldt’s last works were contained in his book, ''Kosmos: Entwurf einer physischen Weltbeschreibung'' ("Cosmos. Sketch for a Physical Description of the Universe"). The book mainly described the development of a life-force from the cosmos, but also included the formation of stars from nebular clouds as well as the geography of planets. Alexander von Humboldt died in 1859, while working on the fifth volume of ''Kosmos''.〔 Through his travels to South America and his observational records in ''An Essay on the Geography of Plants'' as well as ''Kosmos'', an important trend emerged through his techniques of observation, scientific instruments used and unique perspective on nature. Humboldt’s novel style has been defined as Humboldtian Science. Humboldt had the ability to combine the study of empirical data with a holistic view of nature and its aesthetically pleasing characteristics, which is now held to be the true definition of the study of vegetation and plant geography.〔Nicolson, Malcolm. 1987. “Alexander von Humboldt, Humboldtian science, and the origins of the study of vegetation.” History of Science. 25: 167-194.〕 Humboldtian science is one of the first techniques for studying both organic and inorganic branches of science.〔Home, Roderick Weir. 1995. “Humboldtian Science revisited: an Australian case study.” History of Science. 33: 1-22.〕 Examining the interconnectedness of vegetation and its respective environment is one of the new and important aspects of Humboldt’s work, an idea labeled as “terrestrial physics,” something that scientists who preceded him, such as Linnaeus, failed to do. Humboldtian science is founded on a principle of "general equilibrium of forces." General equilibrium was the idea that there are infinite forces in nature that are in constant conflict, yet all forces balance each other out. Humboldt laid the groundwork for future scientific endeavors by establishing the importance of studying organisms and their environment in conjunction .〔Cannon, Susan Faye. 1978. Science in culture: the early Victorian period. Kent, Eng:Dawon.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Humboldtian science」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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