Negotiating boundaries: Encyclopédie, romanticism, and the construction of science.

Natural history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has been widely debated in the field of the social sciences. This paper explores the social negotiation of boundaries in the Encyclopédie and romantic science. Highlighting the importance of imagination and aesthetics to the scientific realms, we perceive a different comprehension of the scientific field through the empirical study of how scientific demarcation is constructed. Works by Erasmus Darwin, Goethe, and Humboldt illustrate how reliable science was performed through atypical scientific methods. After pointing out the links between literary, artistic, and scientific works, we then debate a series of changes that framed the scientific imagery of romantic and encyclopaedic sciences.

Negotiating boundaries: Encyclopédie, romanticism, and the construction of science / Negociando fronteiras: Encyclopédie, romantismo e a construção da ciência

Abstract Natural history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has been widely debated in the field of the social sciences. This paper explores the social negotiation of boundaries in the Encyclopédie and romantic science. Highlighting the importance of imagination and aesthetics to the scientific realms, we perceive a different comprehension of the scientific field through the empirical study of how scientific demarcation is constructed. Works by Erasmus Darwin, Goethe, and Humboldt illustrate how reliable science was performed through atypical scientific methods. After pointing out the links between literary, artistic, and scientific works, we then debate a series of changes that framed the scientific imagery of romantic and encyclopaedic sciences.

Resumo A história natural nos séculos XVIII e XIX tem sido amplamente debatida no campo das ciências sociais. Este artigo explora a negociação social de fronteiras na Encyclopédie e na ciência romântica. Destacando a importância da imaginação e da estética para os domínios científicos, percebemos uma compreensão diferente do campo científico por meio do estudo empírico de como a demarcação científica é construída. Obras de Erasmus Darwin, Goethe e Humboldt ilustram como o conceito de ciência confiável foi elaborado por meio de métodos científicos atípicos. Depois de apontar os vínculos entre obras literárias, artísticas e científicas, discutimos uma série de mudanças que moldaram o imaginário científico das ciências romântica e enciclopédica.