Breidbach, Olaf

Dr. Olaf Breidbach holds a Ph.D.’s in philosophy and biology from the University of Bonn. He currently teaches at Scripps College.

Transformation of Science in Germany at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century. Physics, Mathematics, Poetry, and Philosophy

2013 0-7734-4537-4
Many books have looked at early nineteenth century science through the lens of the whole of Europe. This book takes a solidly Germanic view of natural science, depicting a view of natural science. It dismantles the well-worn cliché of a speculative philosophy and an empirical natural science that began to move further and further away from each other, ultimately becoming irreconcilable. Such an interpretation of the physical-philosophical discourse into different disciplines imposes the dualistic viewpoint of our own time onto an era where erecting such categorical boundaries between knowledge areas was completely foreign. A discussion of physics in the early nineteenth century drew no distinction between itself and philosophy, which is the biggest contribution of this volume.