sum006 -- SUMS

Summary

Cunningham, Andrew, and Nicholas Jardine. Romanticism and the Sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York: 1990.

Q125 .R735

Summary by Bryan Blair

"Romanticism refers to a period and not just a state of mind." The division of science and arts was very different from the way we perceive them now. Engineering was considered a rather useful art, while theology and history fell into the category of science. Science was governed by reason, and art by the 'rule of thumb' or merely an understood practice. There is special mention of Davy, Coleridge and Goethe. Goethe used concepts from natural science, especially chemistry, in many of his works. Faust

is full of alchemical ideas, even though these were not popular in the chemical world of the 1800's. Other books of Goethe however, such as On the Doctrine of Colors have very specific allusions to chemistry; a very accepted science of the Romantic period. The Romantic period was also a period of rising interest in physiology (the science of life). One of the most involved books on this science is Shelley's Frankenstein. The entire book is a series of essays about different aspects of Romantic philosophy and ideology in the field of science.

Other essays included of significance:

Historical consciousness in the German Romantic

Theology and the sciences in the German Romantic period

Romantic thought and the origins of cell theory

Coleridge and the sciences

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Jesse D. Hurlbut--

Last Updated November 5, 1993