Romantic Empiricism: Nature, Art, and Ecology from Herder to Humboldt

In Romantic Empiricism, Dalia Nassar explores a philosophical tradition that emerged in Germany in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on the phenomenon while recognizing the creative role of the knowing subject and the cognitive value of art and aesthetic experience. She demonstrates how these thinkers worked together to develop a sophisticated empirical approach to the natural world, which culminated in a new, ecological understanding of the world and the human place within it. Revisiting their thought has the potential to redirect contemporary environmental debates and respond to urgent ecological questions in new and productive ways.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 16 August 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

In Romantic Empiricism, Dalia Nassar delves into an understudied philosophical tradition that emerged in Germany during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. She traces its development, highlights its significance, and advocates for its continued relevance. Nassar moves beyond Kant's notion of reflecting judgment to explore Herder's concept of animal worlds, Goethe's exploration of the responsibilities of the scientist, and Alexander von Humboldt's aesthetic science. Through these thinkers, Nassar demonstrates how a sophisticated empirical approach to the natural world was developed, focusing on phenomena while also recognizing the creative role of the knowing subject and the cognitive value of art and aesthetic experience.

She explores how these four thinkers collaborated, sometimes as rivals and sometimes as teachers and collaborators, and illustrates how their search for a new methodology led to a new ecological understanding of the world and the human place within it. By revisiting their thought, particularly their distinctive approach to the study of nature, Nassar demonstrates the potential to redirect contemporary environmental debates and respond to urgent ecological questions in innovative and productive ways.

Romantic Empiricism offers a valuable perspective on the relationship between humans and the natural world, challenging traditional dichotomies and promoting a more holistic understanding of our place within it. Through its exploration of the ideas of these influential thinkers, Nassar provides a rich resource for those seeking to reimagine our relationship with the environment and address the pressing ecological challenges of our time.

Weight: 574g
Dimension: 162 x 243 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780190095437