Book
English

Electric and Magnetic Dreams in Romantic Europe : The debate about the representation of Nature in the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries

PublisherParis : Blanchard
Collection
  • Sciences et Techniques en Perspective
Publication date2014
Abstract

From Mesmer's Animal Magnetism to Ampère's electrodynamics, this book attempts to shed light on the multiple ways through which electricity and magnetism became metaphors, explaining the universe and man's behavior in a wide range of Romantic theories framed between the changing frontiers of science, medicine, literature, poetry and art. This work seeks to contribute to a better understanding of how late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Romantic visions challenged the mechanical representation of nature by means of elaborating a unified vision of knowledge, which reintegrated calculus, verses, paintings and scientific observations together with enthusiastic reflections on man and the diversity of natural world. In an age when academic disciplines were being created, Romantic natural philosophers dreamt of creating an utopian vision of science, which claimed the use of imagination, intuition and emotions as essential methodological tools to unravel nature's secret forces.

Keywords
  • Romanticism and Sciences
  • History of electricity and magnetism
  • Ecology
  • Animal magnetism
  • Animal electricity
  • Somnambulism
  • André-Marie Ampère
NoteThèse de doctorat remaniée
Funding
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - Bourse FNS publications scientifiques
Citation (ISO format)
MARTIN MORUNO, Dolorès. Electric and Magnetic Dreams in Romantic Europe : The debate about the representation of Nature in the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries. Paris : Blanchard, 2014. (Sciences et Techniques en Perspective)
Secondary files (1)
Extract
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
  • PID : unige:41517
ISBN978-2-85367-265-8
951views
521downloads

Technical informations

Creation24/10/2014 12:36:00
First validation24/10/2014 12:36:00
Update time14/03/2023 22:12:38
Status update14/03/2023 22:12:38
Last indexation30/10/2024 20:36:17
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