New Publication

The Jena zoologist Ernst Haeckel is not only one of the most important, but also one of the most controversial natural scientists of the late 19th and early 20th century. As an enthusiastic follower of Darwin, he worked on the further development and popularization of the theory of evolution and ultimately became a symbolic figure in the ideological struggles of his time. 

Haeckel became part of literary, artistic and philosophical networks. As a public speaker and popularizer, he bundled the topics of evolutionary theory that were important to him into a world view of “monism”. As a scientific illustrator, he also shaped the aesthetic side of natural research, which was in great demand among artists. Relevant correspondence from these networks is documented in the volumes on worldview, art and literature. This volume contains correspondence with Austrian and Swiss partners from December 1870 to August 1894, including Friedrich von Baerenbach alias Frigyes Medveczky, Bartholomäus von Carneri, Konrad Deubler, Arnold Dodel-Port and Bertha von Suttner. The fact that Haeckel became a point of interest for these autodidacts, literary figures, specialist philosophers and non-academic philosophers sheds light both on the artistic and literary side of Haeckel's work and on the aesthetic, scientific and philosophical level of education of his contemporaries. All of this is set against the backdrop of the specific political histories of Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

https://www.steiner-verlag.de/Ernst-Haeckel-Ausgewaehlte-Briefwechsel.-Historisch-kritische-Ausgabe.-Bd.-21/9783515138840External link