Wissenschaften zwischen Tradition und Innovation – Historische Perspektiven – Sciences between Tradition and Innovation – Historical Perspectives

The ideas of »tradition« and »innovation« articulated by cultural historiography have in recent decades been presented as central categories both in popular and in highly stratified collective and cultural memory concepts. This volume contains studies in the English and German languages exploring the dichotomy of old and new as well as seeking to shed some light on the characteristics of the rise of new scientific theories and practices. All contributors are aiming to analyse the formation and development of sciences within the realms of »tradition« and »innovation« from historical perspectives. The era concerned is the so called Sattelzeit (1770-1830), that is, a transitionary period from the contemporary perspective, encompassing the evolvement of complex processes of novel methods of cognition and observation, the introduction and adaptation of new scientific contents, and their socialization (»Vergesellschaftung«) through various media. The papers have been edited in four thematic chapters focusing on the uses of concepts and of terms, the practices of knowledge production, the tools of mediality regarding reception and dissemination, including the relevant issues of specific fields of disciplines such as linguistics, aesthetics, history, philosophy, statistics, ethnology, medicine, and agronomics.