The word of ambition at the present day is Culture
Ambition? I'm not too sure what he means by this.
41 Matching Annotations
- Sep 2020
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en.wikisource.org en.wikisource.org
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www.peirce.org www.peirce.org
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"He wrote on science like a Lord Chancellor,"
Does this indicate a more artistic style to the science, if not I'm honestly not sure what it means.
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www.humansandnature.org www.humansandnature.org
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“like an ancient mariner
Was the reference to the Coleridge poem intentional?
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Initially skeptics had grumbled that Humboldt was so Frenchified he had probably forgotten his native German
interesting take, kinda relevant to my current hypothesis regarding Humboldt's accessibility to the modern reader.
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the privileged inheritors of nature’s sublime power and beauty,
did Humboldt accidentally justify westward expansion?
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In short, the study of nature creates and bonds the human community and gives us the strength to resist the social pathologies that would tear us apart.
Fascinating idea, I personally find it rather accurate but I wonder if the environmental disconnect of modern society has lessened the impact of nature on human communities.
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social and aesthetic dimensions of Humboldt’s thinking,
but that's most of it
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Humboldt’s status as an icon was so great that for some years after his death a high-stakes game was played over how to define his legacy
This attitude doesn't seem to have fully survived to the modern day.
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www.gutenberg.org www.gutenberg.org
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The quantity of heat received by a planet, and whose unequal distribution determines the meteorological variations of its atmosphere, depends alike upon the light-engendering force of the sun; that is to say, upon the condition of its gaseous coverings, and upon the relative position of the planet and the central body.
Hmmmmmm, climate change!!!!
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p 35 grasses,
I get the impression this text version of Cosmos would be greatly improved if the illustrations referenced were present.
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The superficial half-knowledge, so characteristic of the present day, which leads to the introduction of vaguely comprehended scientific views into general conversation, also gives rise, under various forms, to the expression of alarm at the supposed danger of a collision between the celestial bodies, or of disturbance in the climatic relations of our globe
Humboldt is quite focused on this topic. It is undoubtedly compelling though he does seem to tred the same ground in different words on occasion.
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he history of science teaches us the difficulties that have opposed the progress of this active spirit of inquiry. Inaccurate and imperfect observations have led, by false inductions, to the great number of physical views that have been perpetuated as popular prejudices among all classes of society.
I'm begining to suspect Humboldt had some sort of future sight, either that or our current society is rather ignorant of the pattern of attitudes towards scientific study clearly present throughout human history.
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Recent researches have rendered it very doubtful whether the primitive seat of Hindoo civilization — one of the most remarkable phases in the progress of mankind — was actually within the tropics
Humboldt seems to have a vested interest in a variety of sciences. This quote for instance indicates Humboldt was at least partially interested in anthropology.
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Not to weary the reader with the details of the phenomena which I long since endeavored graphically to represent,
hmmmm
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Mont Blanc
I know this was, and still is, a literal mountain but it's also the name of a poem by Percy Shelly, This man should be considered a romantic poet.
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the magic power exercised upon our minds by the physical world, since the character of the landscape, and of every imposing scene in nature, depends so materially upon the mutual relation of the ideas and sentiments simultaneously excited in the mind of the observer.
The reverence with which Humboldt describes nature is downright inspiring.
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sublimity
Humboldt seems to have a rather romantic view of the world.
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The dogmas of former ages survive now only in the superstitions of the people and the prejudices of the ignorant, or are perpetuated in a few systems, which, conscious of their weakness, shroud themselves in a vail of mystery.
Did Humboldt just accurately predict modern attitudes toward's climate change?
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When man began to interrogate nature
Humboldt really knows how to bring the poetics into the science.
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He who can trace, through by-gone times, the stream of our knowledge to its primitive source, will learn from history how, for thousands of years, man has labored, amid the ever-recurring changes of form, to recognize the invariability of natural laws, and has thus, by the force of mind, gradually subdued a great portion of the physical world to his dominion
Damn solid insight into man's relationship with nature.
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The subject before me is so inexhaustible and so varied, that I fear either to fall into the superficiality of the encyclopedist, or to weary the mind of my reader by aphorisms consisting of mere generalities clothed in dry and dogmatical forms
this is genuinely pretty funny but also rather self aware. Yet, although he acknowledges it his writing is still a bit to close to an Encyclopedia for my personal enjoyment.
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www.neh.gov www.neh.gov
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“He keeps coming back to the trip to the Americas time and again,” says Kutzinski. “It is a touchstone . . . it is always there, always on his mind.”
hmm, studying Humboldt has honestly come as a surprise, I hadn't thought we'd be focused more on literature written by Americans, yet Humboldt work is undeniably American despite his European origins.
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Latin Americans and Europeans are more likely to know of Humboldt’s legacy than people in the United States
Anecdotal but this quote definitely rings true to my experience (or lack there of) with Humboldt and his work.
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we no longer consider as unworthy of our attention anything that diverges from the style that the Greeks bequeathed to us through their inimitable models” can be seen as a direct challenge to the European sense of cultural superiority.
kinda sad that this idea is still rather controversial in certain spheres of modern society.
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He was up against a prevailing view that the Americas had no history to speak of,
funny thing to consider from a modern perspective.
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“The unequal distribution of animals across the globe has had a profound impact upon the lot of peoples and their more or less rapid march toward civilization.”
Increadably progressive idea we are still grappling with. Funny in a sad way to think that some modern people still haven't grasped this concept.
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After pointing out that many Andean peaks are indeed higher than Mont Blanc
Again I wonder about romantic connections, I am beginning to suspect that Romantic science has a different list of significant figures than Romantic poetry despite them both being romantic literature.
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“View of Chimborazo and Carihuairazo,
Poetic title for a scientific work.
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“It is quite rare for this postman to lose letters or get them wet on his way from Ingatambo to the residence of the governor of Jaén.”
Is this fiction or biography? Because it seems to be a true account considering Humboldt's body of work yet the story is rather absurd.
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He proposed that profits be shared with slaves to give them an incentive to increase agricultural wealth and that public funds be set aside to buy slaves’ freedom. Humboldt’s ideas so infuriated officials in Havana that they banned his book.
Again, Humboldt appears to have ideals in line with the great romantic authors, why is he not considered among them in literary circles?
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Humboldt wrote prolifically about the condition of slaves on the island and sought to demonstrate that slavery could not be justified even on economic grounds.
Humboldt appears to be a man ahead of his time in a wide variety of ways.
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His star may rise again with the efforts of the Alexander von Humboldt in English project.
Does English here refer to literature or the language, or both?
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Charles Lyell, Louis Agassiz, Franz Boas, and Samuel Morse.
I may need to update my knowledge of 19th century scientists. Can't say I recognize any of these names.
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“If you really want to have a notion of tropical countries, study Humboldt,” wrote Charles Darwin,
Humboldt as the basis for future scholars seems to be a central idea in studying his life and work
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“a high-minded scientific decorum that forbade him from violating anyone’s privacy, including his own.
Why bother writing a personal narrative at all if you don't want to include any human emotion or significant personal details?
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a Romantic sense of the sublime, and the values—though not the bloodshed—of the French Revolution.
Would Humboldt's writings be considered romantic literature? He fits the time period and this author claims his writings contain the sublimity of romantic work, but his focus on science seems to have removed him from the discussion of significant romance authors, at least from a literary perspective.
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“There are moments in life when it is useless to call on reason.”
downright inspiring quote, also interesting take coming from a scientist
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Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent,
Seems like a text worth exploring if I wish to dive deeper into Humboldt
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the preeminent scientist of his day
I'm curious about this claim, while it could be true among more learned circles in the modern day, the general public seems to have little knowledge of Humboldt even if exposed to his concepts.
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"the unity of nature."
What does this phrase mean? Is humanity included in this unity?
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hypothes.is hypothes.is
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noted
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