Von Vielschichtigkeiten und Verschränkungen “Kulturen der Wissenschaft – Wissenschaften in der Kultur”

On Multiple Levels and Linkages: Introduction to the Symposium ‘Cultures of Sciences – the Sciences in Culture’. – The article presents briefly approaches to cultural history and cultural studies that seem potentially useful to or have recntly been applied in historical studies of the sciences. The first section discusses three such approaches: discourse analysis, symbolic artefacts (images and text), and cultures of scientific practice. Each of the three approaches raises issues of its own, and all of them share a common problem characteristic of cultural and social history in general: linking micro and macro levels of analysis. The second section presents three approaches to resolving this dilemma by focusing on specific linkages between cultures of science (or culture in the sciences) and general history: scientific thought and practice as norms for professional behavior, for example in fields of knowledge dominated by women; spaces of knowledge, for example the city; and linkages of cultural, media and economic history in fields such as radio and television.     

Blutkreislauf und Dreieinigkeit. Medizinischer Antitrinitarismus von Michael Servet (1511–1553) bis Giorgio Biandrata (1515–1588)

This paper centers on the relationship between renaissance medicine and antitrinitarianism forming an important part of the radical reformation in 16th century. Antitrinitarians denied the theological concept of the triune Christian God. Modern antitriniarianism was first formulated by Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician. The doctrine soon won disciples in northern Italy (Padua, Pisa, Rome) and in some countries of eastern central Europe (Poland, Moravia, Transylvania). Physicians who believed in or sympathized with antitrinitarianism revolutionized the theory of blood flow. They developed new concepts leading to Harvey's theory of the circulation of the blood. Parts of Servet's theory looked like Paracelsus's mystical idea of the eternal flesh of the body of Christ (Latin limbus aeternus), but later the medicine and natural philosophy of antitrinitarian physicians tended to be empiristic, rational and sometimes materialistic. They contributed heavily to the diffusion and physiological foundation of antitrinitarian concepts like unitarianism, tolerance and irenism.     

Antiparacelsismus und Dreieinigkeit. Medizinischer Antitrinitarismus von Thomas Erastus (1524–1583) bis Ernst Soner (1572–1605)

Antiparacelism and Trinity: Medical antitrinitarism from Thomas Erastus (1524–1583) to Ernst Soner (1572–1605). – There were close relationships between Renaissance medicine and antitrinitarianism in 16th and 17th century. Forming an important part of the radical reformation antitrinitarianism won many disciples in the Holy Roman Empire and proved its attraction for physicians. This paper centers on two public scandals in Heidelberg and Altdorf involving the reknown university professors and physicians Thomas Erastus and Ernst Soner. Michael Servetus' new concept of the blood flow through the lungs was discussed in Heidelberg. In Altdorf Caspar Hofmann, Soner's colleague, developed a special theory of the blood flow and corresponded with William Harvey. Erastus and Soner sharply critisized the hermectical and neoplatonical ideas of Paracelsus. Although sympathizing with antitrinitarianism they denounced the Paracelsians as heretics. The Polish antitrinitarians were called Socinians, from Faustus Socinus. Their doctrine tended to be Aristotelic and rationalistic. Soner combined a socinian theology with a heterodox Aristotelianism referring to Andrea Cesalpino. Again after Soner's death some of his pupils and other physicians advocated socinianism in Gdansk (Martin Ruar, Florian Krause, Daniel Zwicker,Valentin Baumgart).     

Der medizinische Wissensaustausch zwischen Siebenbürgen und anderen europäischen Ländern im Spiegel des Auslandsstudiums und der ärztlichen Ausbildung der Siebenbürger vor der Gründung der Klausenburger Universität (1872)

The first perpetual university in Transylvania was founded rather late compared to European standards, namely only in 1872 in Klausenburg (Cluj, Kolozsvár). Through the centuries, the social request for physicians was satisfied by the education of Transylvanian students at foreign universities and by the immigration of physicians from abroad. Concerning the period from 1180 to 1849, we know about 7145 Transylvanian students at more than 80 different universities of the Occident. Thereof, 412 physicians and 219 surgeons can be documented by their names. The ranking list of the most frequented medical faculties (Vienna, Padova, Leyden, Utrecht, Jena, Lipsia, Erlangen, Frankfort‐on‐Oder, Goettingen, Basel etc.) proves that all of these medical men received their professional education (being sponsored socially) from the then most excellent foreign universities. Thus, studies abroad guaranteed continual transfer of knowledge from Western to Eastern Europe. This situation seems to partially have compensated the disadvantages of lacking own Transylvanian universities ‐ at least from the quality point of view, so that the professional standard of the education of doctors working in Transylvania used to correspond to the highest level of European medicine.