The Cultural Authority of Natural History in Early Modern Europe

Abstract

In the twenty-first century, the social utility of biology, and of the natural sciences more generally, is taken for granted. Most Western societies devote considerable resources to the funding of scientific activities: science faculties occupy pride of place in the major research universities, and natural scientists themselves, while perhaps not enjoying the unchallenged prestige of their immediate predecessors, still wield considerable cultural authority. By way of contrast, the various disciplines of the humanities are viewed with mixed feelings, and the contributions of those who labor in Faculties of Arts, while welcome, are not generally thought to contribute in tangible ways to progress and prosperity. During the European Renaissance a rather different set of priorities was in place. Here, I offer a general account of what might be termed the first phase in the transformation of natural history-one that took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.© 2010 by The University of Chicago