Naturwissenschaft und Religion in den Niederlanden um 1600

Dutch science flourished in the late sixteenth and in the seventeenth century thanks to the immigration of cartographers, botanists, mathematicians, astronomers and the like from the Southern Netherlands after the Spanish army had captured the city of Antwerp in 1585, and thanks to the religious and the socio-economic situation of the country. A strong impulse for practical scientific activities started from the Reformation, mainly thanks to its anti-traditional attitude, which had an anti-rationalistic tendency. Therefore, in the Northern Netherlands there was no ‘warfare’ between science and religion and the biblical arguments leading to Galileo's condemnation were not used. Although the growth of the exact sciences and of technology in the late sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries in Protestant cirles may be partly attributed to the expansion of trade, industry, navigation and so on, this does not explain why there was also at the same time a great interest in subjects as botany and zoology, which had no immediate economic utility. There were discussions about Copernicanism and Cartesianism. So a number of astronomers and theologians rejected the earth's movement on scientific and religious grounds, but there were also those who did not reject the Copernican system on biblical grounds. In the seventeenth century there was much discussion between science and religion in the Northern Netherlands, but that discussion was not followed by censure by the Church of the State. In the Republic there was a large amount of intellectual freedom in the study of the natural sciences, thanks to practical and ideological considerations. In the eighteenth century the seventheenth century tension between science and religion changed into a physicotheological natural science. It was believed that investigations into the workings of nature should lead to a better understanding of its Creator. So Bernard Nieuwentijt in his well-known book: The right use of-world views for the conviction of atheists and unbelievers (1715) intended to prove the existence of God on the basis of teleological arguments.     

History as Sacrifice: The Polynesian Iconoclasm

ABSTRACT The Polynesian iconoclasm comprised a series of destructive episodes in which god‐images were rendered powerless and temples and associated structures were successively burned or torn down in Eastern Polynesia. Beginning in Tahiti and neighbouring Mo'orea in 1815, it spread rapidly to other Society Islands, the Austral Islands and the Southern Cook Islands. In this article I suggest that the willingness of Polynesian leaders to follow Tahitian precedence in destroying or unwrapping their god images can be partially explained by the fact that they saw themselves as participants in a large‐scale sacrifice, the common objective of which was the acquisition of greater mana and the consequent revitalisation of their societies. In making this argument I engage with anthropological theories that address relationships between sacrifice and historical transformation. I conclude by proposing that the Polynesian iconoclasm was a form of rituopraxis comprising regionally specific improvisations upon a general ritual schema.     

∆ιoνυσίoυ Σoλωμoυ, Φoιηματα και ϕεζζ 'Eϕιμέλεια καιεσαγσ Στυλιανòσ'Aλεζίoυ

Abstract

In the last issue of this journal there appeared an article by Bissera Pentcheva in which the author argued that before iconoclasm the cult of Mary knew no images, in particular in processions, and that in addition images of Mary had no significance as protector of the city. Such phenomena first appeared in the tenth century and were then projected back on the past. In order to examine this thesis we will need once again to review the sources.     

Visualisierungen in der deutschen Geographie des 19. Jahrhunderts. Die Beispiele Robert Schlagintweit und Hans Meyer

Visualization in 19^th‐century German geography: Robert Schlagintweit and Hans Meyer as examples. – Visual representations of nature formed an essential part of 19^th‐century earth sciences. In particular, colonial photography – as a visual source, and as an instrument of the construction of national identities – serves essential research interests of current history and social sciences. The present paper is a case study on the role and function of photography in German geography of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. It focuses on the work of the Munich geographer Robert Schlagintweit (1833–1885) and the Leipzig colonial geographer Hans Meyer (1858–1929); the early history of photography in India and the function of images in the geographical exploration of overseas territories are discussed. Although there is nearly half a century between the work of R. Schlagintweit and H. Meyer, their photography shows remarkable parallels. The ideas of both on the practice of visualization are rooted in pedagogic and didactic concepts as well as in popular science. For both geographers photography was essentially a technical help, which often needed graphic revisions. And they both preferred photography to depict people and buildings (compared, for instance, to landscapes). Concerning the more comprehensive question of how far their photography transmitted a specific German ‘image of abroad’, it is indicated that such a specific image should have its essential roots in a peculiar visual culture of German earth sciences in the first half of the 19^th century. Thus the paper offers a starting point for further studies discussing the change from a ‘Biedermeier image’ of foreign cultures to a more ‘colonial’ one in 19^th‐century German geography.     

The Two Eschatological Perspectives of the Book of Daniel

The revelatory traditions found in chs. 2,7-12 of the book of Daniel are exceptional in connecting the historical circumstances pertaining to the persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes with the eschatological hopes of the Hebrew Bible. We will argue that the nature of this connection is twofold. On the one hand, for the redactor who gave the book of Daniel its canonical form, the distress associated with Antiochus was the distress associated with the last days. On the other hand, for the original composers of the book of Daniel, the distress associated with Antiochus was only a precursor to the distress associated with the last days. Finally, we will apply the insights gained from making this argument to the question of the book of Daniel’s composition.     

Universitäre Freiräume im Spätmittelalter als Wegbereiter neuzeitlicher Naturwissenschaft

University freedom in late Middle Ages as a way to modern natural history: The question regarding the relation between faith and natural history in late Middle Ages was answered in different ways. In the way of thinking shaped by Augustinian philosophy there existed, in early Middle Ages, a close connection between natural science and religious belief. In the second half of the 13th century attempts were made at dividing natural science from supernatural sphere. In late Middle Ages it was endeavoured not only to liberate natural history from the domination of theology and metaphysics but also to achieve the autonomous treatment of nature. These endeavours became fully accomplished by Nicolaus Copernicus.     

Reception and Contingency in Recent Art from Chile

The re-edition of the book Margins and Institutions by Nelly Richard, a landmark in the study of Chilean art produced during the dictatorship of General Pinochet, reminds of how the original publication contributed to shape a particular reception of these ephemeral works that almost nobody witnessed. The images of the book appear removed from time and space and do not give much information about their original situations, yet this article discusses how, paradoxically, this has enabled an intimate reception of those works: the personal memories of the audience filled in the gaps left by the book, as attested by an ethnographic research project carried out to explore the constructed nature of this response. These ideas are discussed in relation to the recent process of internationalization of Chilean art, highlighting the differences between the contemporary context and the former one, and the importance of paying attention to the late receptor of these pieces.     

Books Reviews

Abstract

The author underscores the uniqueness of the situation which produced a text but also the process of rewriting and interpretation which followed later applications of the same text. Laato's belief in seeking for historically fixable ideological contexts of prophetic texts is, however, unjustified in light of the unhistorical nature of this context as presented by the OT. Any recurrence to the tradition process of Mesopotamian epic texts in this connection is wrong, as the Mesopotamian tradition was very different from the Palestinian one. Instead of looking for a fixed redactional pattern for all prophetic texts, we should reckon each book to have its own history.     

I,Claudius. Self‐styling in early medieval debate

Historians often have difficulties understanding contrary figures who deviated from mainstream practices and beliefs. In the case of Claudius of Turin, who because of his iconoclasm has been pictured as a proto‐Protestant, this image of a solitary was partly his own creation. Claudius liked to present himself as a truth‐teller, defending God's honour and the unity of the church against all kinds of evils. This article uses the case of Claudius and the response of Dungal, one of his learned opponents, like him connected to the royal court, to reflect on the role of self‐styling in early medieval debate.     

Ecofeminism and First Nations Peoples in Canada: Linking culture,gender and nature

Many ecofeminists see women's subordination as a result of linking women with nature. Thus one of their tasks has been to unravel the underlying dualistic structure of the categories ‘women’ and ‘nature’ and to argue for a reconceptualization of these categories. However, there exist amongst ecofeminists epistemological differences pertaining to the ways in which the women–nature connection should be addressed. Spiritual ecofeminists argue that the connection between women and nature is worth reclaiming and celebrating. In contrast, social ecofeminists contend that the connection represents a patriarchal artifice that reinforces oppression. In support of both perspectives, ‘Western’ ecofeminists have invoked the cultural beliefs and histories of Aboriginal peoples. Such use of Aboriginal beliefs and experiences within much of Western ecofeminist discourses is partial and uninformed. In this article an alternative approach is offered—one that emphasizes the importance of listening to Aboriginal voices describing contemporary connections to nature. Aboriginal voices are presented in the context of in-depth interviews conducted with Anishinabek (Ojibway and Odawa peoples) living in one First Nations community and three cities in Ontario, Canada. The interviews highlight the importance of listening to Anishinabek describe their connections to Mother Earth (nature) as they reveal counter-narratives that offer the potential to reconcile spiritual and social ecofeminism and to reconceptualize nature (Mother Earth) as an active and dynamic agent. Such counter-narratives may improve current understandings of gender–nature connections within Western ecofeminisms.     

The idea of mission in Finnish clerical Lutheranism during the Continuation War 1941–1944

On 25 June 1941 Finland embarked on a war against the Soviet Union, as part of Germany's Operation Barbarossa. The war that was about to begin could be considered acceptable and even advantageous politically. However, theologically this was not necessarily the case. The topic of the article is how the war between the states of Finland and the Soviet Union could be justified publicly in relation to a religion whose core message is not to kill, to turn the other cheek to – and even love – the enemy. Due to the close and long‐lasting relationship between the state, the army and the established church, Lutheran priests had a significant role in the war effort. The analysis shows that the answer provided by Finnish Lutheran priests to the question drew significantly upon two versions of missionary thought, the national mission and the world‐historical one. The empirical material consists of articles, speeches, sermons and statements.     

The prescription as literature

In the medical writings of antiquity the recipe, a basic form of scientific writing, was considered a literary genre with conventions of its own. In texttype-linguistics, however, the recipe plays only a minor role; in studies on the history of literary short texts it is hardly ever mentioned and, furthermore, it has come to the conclusion that the recipe's function has lain solely in the curing of the sick. The present study focuses on its multifunctional character. A collection of widely scattered and hardly accessible recipes shows that the recipe adopted functions beyond giving technical directives. Its multifunctionality in the German literature of early modern times is manifest in medical and cooking jocular recipes, cooking recipes in minnesang, mock recipes aimed at physicians and astrologers, recipes of spiritual-religious content, recipes containing art and literary criticism as well as recipes in a moral-satirical or a political-agitative vein.     

Platon im Arzneibuch und der Heller am Tresen Pharmazie im 16. Jahrhundert zwischen Humanismus,Stadtgesellschaft und Ökonomie

The study focuses on the development of pharmacopoeas during the early modern time. First, the >Nouvo Receptario< of 1499 came out in Florence as the first printed pharmacopoea of a north‐Italian town, edited by the guild of medicins and apothercaries. Following trading routes the idea of >pharmacopoea< arrived in Nuremberg, where the counsil of the town asked the humanist Valerius Cordus to prepare such a book. Printed in 1546, it quickly became the standard in preparing medicines for other towns in southern Germany. At Augsburg, a wealthy and powerful town, the physicians wrote their own pharmacopoea which was printed in 1564. The comparison of the three pharmacopoeas shows that its printing depended on the social stucture and the financial aspects of each town. But even if the apothecaries, the doctors or the mayors were trained in the humanistic tradtion, the materia medica still continued in the arabic tradition, i.e. the old drugs and preparations remained in these pharmacopoeas, probably for financial reasons.     

Eine handgreifliche Geschichtslüge. Wie Martin Luther zum Gegner des copernicanischen Weltsystems gemacht wurde.

Martin Luther has been severely criticized for an offhand remark about Copernicus. In the most frequently cited version of this statement, Luther is alledged to have branded Copernicus as a fool who will turn the whole science of astronomy upside down. This disparaging judgment on Luther prevails in many publications by respected historians of science of the 20th century, although since the early thirties, it has been convincingly demonstrated that the famous citation from Luther's table talk is next to worthless as an historical source, that Luther never referred to Copernicus or to the heliocentric world system in all of his voluminous writings, and that there is no indication that Luther ever suppressed the Copernican viewpoint. His attitude towards Copernicus was indifference or ignorance, but not hostility. In this paper, it is shown that the story of Luther's anti‐Copernicanism emerged in the second half of the 19th century. It was invented by Franz Beckmann and Franz Hipler, two Prussian Catholic historians who were engaged in the conflict between the German government under Bismarck and the Catholic Church (Kulturkampf), and it was disseminated by influential German and American historians like Leopold Prowe, Ernst Zinner, and Andrew D. White. In the second half of the 20th century, many historians of science relied on the authority of these authors, rather than studying the sources or the secondary literature in which it has been proved that Luther's anti‐Copernicanism is an outright falsification of history.     

Layers of religious and political iconoclasm under the Islamic State: symbolic sectarianism and pre-monotheistic iconoclasm

This article examines the heritage destruction undertaken by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. To date, their iconoclasm has been mostly characterised either as acts of wanton barbarism devoid of religious or political justification, or as a cynical performance designed as a mass media spectacle. Drawing on a systematic analysis of two key IS propaganda outlets – their on-line magazine, Dabiq, and the various slick films released by Al-Hayat – this article argues that the heritage destruction perpetrated by the IS are not only situated within a carefully articulated theological framework and key to the creation of a new and ideologically pure ‘Islamic State’, but that they are also constituted by several complex layers of religious and political iconoclasm. To demonstrate, this article documents the iconoclasm undertaken by the IS along two key axes: Symbolic Sectarianism (Shia and Sufi mosques and shrines); and Pre-Monotheistic Iconoclasm (ancient polytheistic sites). Attacks on key sites within these categories, such as the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in Damascus or the Mosul Museum, not only adhere to their religious and political framework but also serve broader geo-political agendas and are attacked as proxy targets for their physical and ideological opponents.     

Zum Verhältnis von Religion und Zoologie im 17. Jahrhundert (William Harvey,Nathaniel Highmore,Jan Swammerdam)

Jan Swammerdam was one of the first scientists to do biological research on the basis of physico-theology. He was a very religious man and thought that by studying the secrets of nature he could best serve the Almighty God. He saw his life's work in demostrating the importance of God in the world of the smallest animals. The most important works of Swammerdam refer to the world of the insects and other lower animals, which he called the ?legions of the God of Israel”?, through which God tells mankind to recognize their sins, to desist from them and to honour him with greater humility. ?The miracles of nature”? he said ?are an open bible, which everywhere points to God as its eternal origin.”? This is one of the reasons for the title of the work Biblia naturae. It was Swammerdam's declared aim to demonstrate that the insects were no less perfect than the higher animals. Therefore, he tried to refute all three arguments used by his contemporaries to show up the difference between the higher animals and the insects: 1. insects were believed to have no inner anatomy; 2. they were thought to originate by spontanous generation; 3. development occurred through ?metamorphosis”?. Swammerdam succeeded in refuting all three arguments by exact studies of the nature and development of the insects. Most important for him was his aim to demonstrate that even the structure and the development of the smallest of animals demonstrate that they could only be made by God himself. Science as God's worship must be strictly objective, he said, because only than could one understand the laws of nature and in this way the real nature of God himself.     

The Multiple Functions of Criollo,Gaucho and Indigenous Symbols in La Historieta Patoruzú, 1936–50: The Conflicts of Peronism,Nationalism and Migration

This article considers the comic book Patoruzú in light of the cultural expressions of Argentine criollismo between the 1930s and 50s. It begins by examining the political and class conflicts that informed the meanings of criollo symbols, and how Dante Quinterno’s creation interacts with them. Perón’s political organisation, for example, constantly resorted to discourses and images of a gaucho and rural nature in order to propagate the ideals of nationalist corporatism. From one perspective, the drawings, storylines and characters of Patoruzú articulate the arguments set forth by Perón in his battles with neo-colonial and oligarchic forces. However, as Anthony Cohen and Stuart Hall argue, mass-media products and popular national symbols are dialogic; they enter into a dialogue with different competing discourses. Thus the comic book is also analysed in respect of the different and conflictive uses and potential interpretations of criollo symbols. One such conflict, it is proposed, resides in the understudied effect of modernisation and urbanisation on the rural criollo migrants, who moved to the provinces of Buenos Aires in large numbers in the 1930s. The comic book, therefore, is not understood simply as an expression of Peronist ideals, but as a footprint of the complex political and identity conflicts of the period.     

Romantischer Dilettantismus — Johann Wilhelm Ritter und die Begründung der Elektrochemie

In this paper the psychological and historical problems of the german philosophy of nature at the time about 1800 are described. During this time the romantic philosopher and scientist of nature Ritter developed a new scientific branch of knowledge: the electrochemistry. Ritter represents exemplarily the type of a romantic dilettante. In this period, the problem of dilettantism got a new validity, especially by Goethe and Schiller: it was recognized as a positive power of human. In the romantic dilettantism of Ritter three aspects are shown: 1st, romantic dilettantes are intellectual flaneurs; 2nd, romantic dilettantes confront facts and general provisions, which up to this moment are supposed to be paradox, and obtain by this method a synthesis; 3rd, romantic dilettantes favour the intuitive power.     

Von der „Natur der Sache”︁ zur Geschichte der Sprache Der Übergang von der Sprachforschung zur Sprachwissenschaft zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts

From the “nature of things” to the history of language: The transition from the study of language to historico-comparative linguistics. This brief essay deals with a somewhat problematic phase in the history of linguistics and tries to investigate the process by which language could be understood as a historical phenomenon with a history of its own. This new understanding of language turned out to be the starting condition for a new and very prolific way in the study of language. The conjecture is that this is due to certain alterations in the semantic field of some important notions relating to language and its study. The process of alteration began by the end of the eighteenth century with conceptual achievements which could adequately be termed as temporalization of aspects of language and the notions related to these aspects. In connection with the so called discovery of the Sanskrit language and the gradual reception of its grammatical structure, looking upon language as an organic entity with autonomous and internal structures of developpement became possible after the German romantic language philosophy had developped a strictly abstract concept of language as a notion of form. This essentially metaphorical mode of speaking nevertheless inaugurated that languages were concieved of as having their own history totally independent of their speakers. With language as an autonomous object the study of language rapidly became the science of language.     

Movement in Print: Migrations and Political Articulations in Grassroots Publishing

What makes a book political? This essay takes up this question through analysis of a small network of grassroots publishing projects. In doing so, I suggest that the materiality and mobility of a book can be just as, if not more, significant than its content when considering its political character. Specifically, I examine the interconnected trajectories of a cluster of books published since 2010 that participate in conversations about migration, work, and popular politics in Argentina and Bolivia. By zooming in on two very distinct contexts of book culture (Buenos Aires and La Paz) and especially the connections and tensions that emerge between them, I seek to account for some of the heterogeneous contemporary formations of what Ángel Rama called the ‘lettered city’ in Latin America. As I focus on grassroots publishing projects, I shift my attention away from the usual spaces of book culture, allowing other marginal circuits of production, circulation, and consumption to appear. Combining ethnographic narrative with textual analysis, this essay develops the double concept of political articulation (as expression and connection) to offer a transdisciplinary exploration of how movement is shaping the print book – materially and politically – in Latin America today.