"Harmony and Discord in the sciences: the journal Physikalische Arbeiten and the enlightenment in Vienna".
 

Der Vortrag findet um 18 Uhr am 8. Juni 2009 im HS 45 (Uni Hauptgebäude, gegenüber Institut für Geschichte) statt.

ABSTRACT:
"From 1783 to 1788, the geologist Ignaz von Born published a scientific journal titled Physikalische Arbeiten der Einträchtige Freunde in Wien.
The eponymous friends were members of the freemason lodge Zur wahren Eintracht and their associates, mostly men engaged in promoting scientific progress.  Through the journal’s eight issues, Born and the contributors presented to the reading public accessible scientific knowledge, popularized enthusiasm for observing and understanding nature, and replicated in print the scientific networks through which intellectual exchange occurred.  The goals were not solely focused on science however.
Much like the contemporary pamphlet debates, literary journals, and freemasonic activities of Vienna’s self-styled Aufklärer, the scientific journal wanted to generate a new intellectual culture to be enjoyed within the Hapsburg lands and admired abroad and to ensure lasting economic development through a stable system of exchanging knowledge.  This talk will thus look at the journal and the ways it modeled scientific Enlightenment through the popularization of ideas and the promotion of their practical application for the benefit of the monarchy."

zur Person