Alexander von Humboldt was the most admired scientist of his day. But the achievements for which he was most celebrated in his lifetime always fell short of perfection. When he climbed the Chimborazo, then believed to be the highest mountain in the world, he did not quite reach the top; he established the existence of the Casiquiare canal, between the great water systems of the Orinoco and the Amazon, but this had been well known to local people; and his magisterial work, Cosmos, was left unfinished. This was no coincidence. Humboldt's pursuit of an all-encompassing, immersive approach to science was a way of finding limits: of nature and of the scientist's own self. A Longing for Wide and Unknown Things portrays a scientific life lived in the era of German Romanticism - a time of radical change, where the focus on the individual placed a new value on feeling, and the pursuit of personal desires. As Humboldt himself admitted, he 'would have sailed to the remotest South Seas, even if it hadn't fulfilled any scientific purpose whatever'.
Alexander von Humboldt was the most admired scientist of his day. But the achievements for which he was most celebrated in his lifetime always fell short of perfection. When he climbed the Chimborazo, then believed to be the highest mountain in the world, he did not quite reach the top; he established the existence of the Casiquiare canal, between the great water systems of the Orinoco and the Amazon, but this had been well known to local people; and his magisterial work, Cosmos, was left unfinished. This was no coincidence. Humboldt's pursuit of an all-encompassing, immersive approach to science was a way of finding limits: of nature and of the scientist's own self. A Longing for Wide and Unknown Things portrays a scientific life lived in the era of German Romanticism - a time of radical change, where the focus on the individual placed a new value on feeling, and the pursuit of personal desires. As Humboldt himself admitted, he 'would have sailed to the remotest South Seas, even if it hadn't fulfilled any scientific purpose whatever'.
Die Materialitätsgeschichte der Aufklärung anhand der Sammelpraxis von Vater und Sohn Forster. Weltumsegler, im Feld forschende Naturhistoriker und Ethnologen, Gelehrte - Johann Reinhold (1729-1798) und sein Sohn Georg Forster (1754-1794) trugen grundlegend zur Erschließung außereuropäischer Welten bei. Durch Sammeln, Ordnen, Zeigen, Zeichnen, Transportieren und Präparieren sowie durch Schreiben und Übersetzen haben sie einen erheblichen Anteil an dem Prozess genommen, der die zusammen mit James Cook erkundeten Räume in Wissensgegenstände verwandelte. Insofern waren die Forsters Produzenten: Das arkadische O-Tahiti und die Freundschaftlichen Inseln oder die düsteren Gestade - der Charlotten-Sund und die verschneite Ödnis Feuerlands - sind zum einen tatsächlich in Augenschein genommene Orte, zum anderen sind es Gegenstände und Ergebnisse von Gestaltungsprojekten. Der vorliegende Band erschließt das Geflecht der Arbeitsfelder von Johann Reinhold und Georg Forster. In den Blick genommen werden die Materialitätsgeschichte der Aufklärung im Bereich der Sammlungs- und Objektpraxis sowie die sammlungsrelevanten Infrastrukturen und Institutionen des aufgeklärten Wissens.
This new critical biography provides a complete picture of German novelist, playwright, and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Offering fresh, thought-provoking interpretations of all Goethe’s major works, including novels such as The Sorrows of Young Werther and The Elective Affinities, plays such as Egmont and Iphigenia in Tauris, and Goethe’s greatest work, Faust, Jeremy Adler also provides many original readings of Goethe’s poetry, beginning with the poems written in his early youth. Alongside Goethe’s work, Adler analyzes the incidents of his life, including his love affairs and his meetings with the luminaries of his age, such as Napoleon Bonaparte. Uniquely, Adler also shows how Goethe’s encyclopedic interest in literature, science, philosophy, law, and many other fields became important for a wide range of later scientists and thinkers. Among the figures he influenced were Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, Émile Durkheim and Susan Sontag. Goethe has often been called the last Renaissance man. This biography shows that Goethe was in fact the first of the moderns—a maker of modernity.
This comprehensive volume identifies and analyzes the significant ideas and institutions that shaped the Western educational heritage. The author examines how worldwide events have impacted education in Europe, North America, and beyond. The third edition incorporates fresh material about the ancient world, European exploration and colonization of North America and India, as well as updated chapters on education in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia. This edition has an expanded treatment of Carl Jung, a new section on Margaret Naumburg and her Walden School, and enhanced analysis of many other theorists. It concludes with broadened coverage of nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century American education, including many educators new to the third edition. Each chapter contains a new feature: Reflection, Discussion, and Research. From Plato and Aristotle to John Dewey, leading educators raised perennial concepts about education and truth, meaning, and value that remain relevant today. In the progression from antiquity to the present, some issues are marked by change and others by continuity—all of which are important to consider, discuss, and research further.
The enduring influence of naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt on American art, culture, and politics Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was one of the most influential scientists and thinkers of his age. A Prussian-born geographer, naturalist, explorer, and illustrator, he was a prolific writer whose books graced the shelves of American artists, scientists, philosophers, and politicians. Humboldt visited the United States for six weeks in 1804, engaging in a lively exchange of ideas with such figures as Thomas Jefferson and the painter Charles Willson Peale. It was perhaps the most consequential visit by a European traveler in the young nation's history, one that helped to shape an emerging American identity grounded in the natural world. In this beautifully illustrated book, Eleanor Jones Harvey examines how Humboldt left a lasting impression on American visual arts, sciences, literature, and politics. She shows how he inspired a network of like-minded individuals who would go on to embrace the spirit of exploration, decry slavery, advocate for the welfare of Native Americans, and extol America's wilderness as a signature component of the nation's sense of self. Harvey traces how Humboldt's ideas influenced the transcendentalists and the landscape painters of the Hudson River School, and laid the foundations for the Smithsonian Institution, the Sierra Club, and the National Park Service. Alexander von Humboldt and the United States looks at paintings, sculptures, maps, and artifacts, and features works by leading American artists such as Albert Bierstadt, George Catlin, Frederic Church, and Samuel F. B. Morse. Published in association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC Exhibition Schedule Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC September 18, 2020–January 3, 2021
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Yoke of Life" by Frederick Philip Grove. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
One night in the city of Hearne, a young thief named Jute breaks into a wizard's house and steals an old wooden box. It should've been a straightforward job. Climb down the chimney, creep through the house, find the thing and get out fast. Unbeknownst to the boy, however, the box contains the knife that killed the Wind. Overcome with curiosity, Jute opens the box. It was the worst thing he could've done. Soon, he's on the run from the wizard, his old masters in the Thieves Guild, and their client, who happens to be the Lord of Darkness himself. On his odyssey of escape, Jute is aided by an unlikely assortment of friends, including a guilt-ridden assassin, a reluctant wizard, and a hawk who just might be able to teach him how to fly. But the Darkness will do anything to find Jute, even if it means plunging the whole land into war. The Hawk And His Boy is the first book of The Tormay Trilogy. The trilogy continues with The Shadow At The Gate, and concludes with The Wicked Day.
