Helmholtz: A Life in Science

Description

Hermann von Helmholtz was a towering figure of nineteenth-century scientific and intellectual life. Best known for his achievements in physiology and physics, he also contributed to other disciplines such as ophthalmology, psychology, mathematics, chemical thermodynamics, and meteorology. With Helmholtz: A Life in Science, David Cahan has written a definitive biography, one that brings to light the dynamic relationship between Helmholtz’s private life, his professional pursuits, and the larger world in which he lived. ​ Utilizing all of Helmholtz’s scientific and philosophical writings, as well as previously unknown letters, this book reveals the forces that drove his life—a passion to unite the sciences, vigilant attention to the sources and methods of knowledge, and a deep appreciation of the ways in which the arts and sciences could benefit each other. By placing the overall structure and development of his scientific work and philosophy within the greater context of nineteenth-century Germany, Helmholtz also serves as cultural biography of the construction of the scientific community: its laboratories, institutes, journals, disciplinary organizations, and national and international meetings. Helmholtz’s life is a shining example of what can happen when the sciences and the humanities become interwoven in the life of one highly motivated, energetic, and gifted person. Introduction PART I  The Making of a Scientist 1  The Boy from Potsdam 2  At the Gymnasium: Father and Son 3  Becoming a Medical Doctor 4  Undiscovered PART II  Gaining Scientific Renown 5  Scientific Networking 6  In the Private and the Public Eye 7  The New Dispensation 8  Unhappy Intermezzo in Bonn 9  The Turning Point 10  The New Angel 11  The Relations of Science 12  The Relations of Music 13  Popularizing Science in Britain and Germany 14  Learning to See the World 15  Almost a Professor of Physics 16  The Road to Berlin PART III  Scientific Grandee 17  In the Capital of Geist 18  The Burdens of Building Physics 19  Among the Elite 20  Kulturkampf in Science, I 21  Kulturkampf in Science, II 22  Anti-Helmholtz, Again 23  In the Scientific Capitals of Europe 24  Institutional Brilliance 25  Celebrations 26  Doyen 27  Science, Art, and Standards Business 28  Charismatic Leader 29  Atlantic Crossings Epilogue: Helmholtz in Modern German Memory Acknowledgments Abbreviations Notes References Index