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To Grasp the Whole World: Politics and Aesthetics before and after Alexander von Humboldt
Editors: Nour Sckell, Soraya | Ehrhardt, Damien
Beiträge zur Politischen Wissenschaft, Vol. 201
(2022)
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Alexander von Humboldt aimed »to grasp the whole world«. He searched the unknown in order to explain that which was close but incomprehensible as a result of being seen in isolation from the network to which it belongs. All natural, cultural and social phenomena are interrelated and should be studied as a whole. Contrary to a hierarchical scientific methodology based on a first principle that supports the whole, Humboldt conceives a complex network in which every individual element is equally important, despite each having its own unique dimensions and logic. Humboldt’s natural studies, classifications, and measurements, as well as his social, artistic, cultural, political and economic research, make up a theory of the cosmos that connects all of these different spheres. This book brings together researchers from several fields to reflect on the meaning of »the whole world«, not only in the context of Humboldt’s legacy (Part I), but also in line with the thought of other political scientists before and after Humboldt (Part II) and from the perspective of culture and the arts (Part III).Alexander von Humboldt aimed »to grasp the whole world«. He searched the unknown in order to explain that which was close but incomprehensible as a result of being seen in isolation from the network to which it belongs. All natural, cultural and social phenomena are interrelated and should be studied as a whole. Contrary to a hierarchical scientific methodology based on a first principle that supports the whole, Humboldt conceives a complex network in which every individual element is equally important, despite each having its own unique dimensions and logic. Humboldt’s natural studies, classifications, and measurements, as well as his social, artistic, cultural, political and economic research, make up a theory of the cosmos that connects all of these different spheres. This book brings together researchers from several fields to reflect on the meaning of »the whole world«, not only in the context of Humboldt’s legacy (Part I), but also in line with the thought of other political scientists before and after Humboldt (Part II) and from the perspective of culture and the arts (Part III).
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Table of Contents | 5 | ||
| Soraya Nour Sckell and Damien Ehrhardt, Introduction | 7 | ||
| Part I: Alexander von Humboldt's legacy | 7 | ||
| Part II: Politics | 9 | ||
| Part III: Culture and Art | 11 | ||
| Part I Alexander von Humboldt's Legacy | 15 | ||
| Damien Ehrhardt and Hélène Fleury, Science and “Transareality” in Humboldt's Cosmos | 17 | ||
| I. About “Transareality” | 17 | ||
| II. Humboldt Between Science and Cosmos | 18 | ||
| III. Humboldt Connecting Disciplinary Areas | 20 | ||
| IV. Humboldt Connecting Cultural Areas | 21 | ||
| 1. The American Expedition, 1799–1804 | 21 | ||
| 2. The Russian Expedition, 1829 | 22 | ||
| 3. The Unrealized Indian Expedition | 22 | ||
| V. Humboldt Connecting Languages | 24 | ||
| Conclusion | 24 | ||
| Bibliography | 25 | ||
| Irene Portela and Domingos Vieira, Cosmos, Citizenship and Justice | 29 | ||
| I. Humboldt | 29 | ||
| II. Cosmos | 30 | ||
| III. Citizenship | 31 | ||
| IV. Justice | 32 | ||
| V. Philosophical Fitting | 33 | ||
| VI. Denouncing the Exploitation of Indigenous Work | 34 | ||
| Bibliography | 36 | ||
| João Motta Guedes, The Aesthetics of the Political Image: Analysing the Paintings of Rugendas after Humboldt | 39 | ||
| I. A Force that Images Contain | 39 | ||
| II. A Landscape of Human Reality | 44 | ||
| III. The Aesthetics of the Political Image | 48 | ||
| Bibliography | 51 | ||
| Elena Soboleva, From Timor to Brazil with the Support of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung | 53 | ||
| I. The Russian Contribution to the Creation of Humboldt Foundation | 54 | ||
| II. Travels in Latin America | 57 | ||
| Archival sources | 64 | ||
| Bibliography | 65 | ||
| Part II Politics | 69 | ||
| Soraya Nour and Claus Zittel, Historiography as Critique of Ideology: The Legacy of Hobbes in International Relations Theory | 71 | ||
| I. Hobbes' Historiography | 72 | ||
| 1. Readings of Hobbes in International Relations Theory | 72 | ||
| 2. Hobbes' Historiography | 74 | ||
| a) Hobbes as a Historian | 76 | ||
| b) Historiography and Science | 78 | ||
| c) Fictitious History | 80 | ||
| II. Historiography as Criticism of Ideology and Idealism | 84 | ||
| 1. Ideology | 84 | ||
| 2. Idealism | 85 | ||
| III. The Role of Hobbes in Contemporary Discussion | 88 | ||
| Bibliography | 91 | ||
| Christopher Pollmann, “My Home is the Planet”. The Totalizing and Monotonizing Expansion of Individual and Collective Human Life | 97 | ||
| I. The Double Expansion of Human Life | 97 | ||
| 1. Spatial Extension | 98 | ||
| a) The History of Human Migration and Conquest of the Earth | 98 | ||
| b) The Broadening of the Spatial Setting and Horizon of Individual and Collective Existence | 98 | ||
| c) The Contemporary Multiplication and Acceleration in the Development of Worldwide Groups, Networks and Relations | 99 | ||
| 2. The Intellectual Increase in Human Life and its Limits | 100 | ||
| a) Scientific and Technical Progress, Beyond Human Understanding? | 100 | ||
| b) Emotional and Metaphysical Needs Possibly Unsatisfied | 102 | ||
| 3. Grasping the Whole World in Order to Compensate for the Loss of Meaning | 104 | ||
| II. The Loss of Variety and Ambiguity, Human Beings Becoming Superfluous | 105 | ||
| 1. The Spatial “Monotonization of the World” (Stefan Zweig) | 105 | ||
| a) The Loss of Biological and Cultural Diversity and the Tendency Towards Massification | 105 | ||
| b) Unified Architecture and Design, Especially of Public Spaces | 107 | ||
| c) The Reign of Functionality and Technicity | 107 | ||
| d) The Rule of Indifference by Abstraction | 108 | ||
| 2. The “Univocalization” of Individual Phenomena (Thomas Bauer) | 109 | ||
| a) The Growing Intolerance Towards Ambiguity | 109 | ||
| b) From Homo Sapiens to Homo Machinalis? | 110 | ||
| 3. Human Beings Becoming Superfluous and Society Turning Totalitarian | 111 | ||
| Concluding Remarks | 114 | ||
| Bibliography | 115 | ||
| Pedro Tiago Ferreira, A Cosmopolitan Approach to Just War Theory | 121 | ||
| Bibliography | 137 | ||
| Cristina Hermida del Llano, The Importance of Non-Governmental Organisations for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Combating Racial Discrimination Against of Roma in Europe | 139 | ||
| Bibliography | 151 | ||
| Paulo de Brito, Is Cosmopolitanism at Risk? | 153 | ||
| I. Introduction | 153 | ||
| II. Cosmopolitanism vs. Populism | 154 | ||
| 1. General Considerations | 154 | ||
| 2. Legal Cosmopolitanism | 155 | ||
| III. Final Considerations | 159 | ||
| Bibliography | 163 | ||
| Part III Culture and Art | 165 | ||
| Nguyen Quy Dao, The Art of Calligraphy in the Far-East | 167 | ||
| I. Origins and Characteristics of Chinese Characters | 168 | ||
| II. The Tools of Calligraphy | 169 | ||
| III. Some Characteristic Features of Calligraphy | 170 | ||
| IV. The Art of Calligraphy | 172 | ||
| V. Japanese Calligraphy | 174 | ||
| VI. Vietnamese Calligraphy | 176 | ||
| Conclusion | 181 | ||
| Nuno Miguel Proença, Cosmology, Embodiment and Emotions in Arthur Schopenhauer's Metaphysics of Music. | 185 | ||
| Bibliography | 204 | ||
| Sara Fernandes, On Personal Identity and Neuroenhancement | 207 | ||
| I. Introduction | 207 | ||
| II. Rethinking Personal Identity | 208 | ||
| III. The Cultural Roots of Neuroenhancement | 211 | ||
| IV. What Is Neuroreductionism? | 215 | ||
| V. Deterministic Perspectives of Personal Identity: Genetics and Neurosciences | 216 | ||
| VI. Is the Self Changeable? | 217 | ||
| VII. Some Problems with Neuronal Reductionism | 222 | ||
| VIII. Conclusion | 223 | ||
| Bibliography | 224 | ||
| Carlos João Correia, Culture and Post-culture | 227 | ||
| I. | 227 | ||
| II. | 229 | ||
| III. | 230 | ||
| IV. | 232 | ||
| Bibliography | 234 | ||
| Biographies | 235 | ||
| Index | 243 |