Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Romantic Sublime
- The Cambridge Companion to the Romantic Sublime
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I The Sublime before Romanticism
- Part II Romantic Sublimes
- 5 German Romanticism and the Sublime
- 6 The Romantic Sublime and Kant’s Critical Philosophy
- 7 Alpine Sublimes
- 8 Urban Sublimes
- 9 Highlands, Lakes, Wales
- 10 Science and the Sublime
- 11 Musical Sublimes
- 12 The Arctic Sublime
- 13 The Body and the Sublime
- 14 The Sublime in Romantic Painting
- 15 From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
- 16 The Sublime in American Romanticism
- Part III Legacies
- Further Reading
- Index
- Cambridge Companions To …
10 - Science and the Sublime
from Part II - Romantic Sublimes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2023
- The Cambridge Companion to the Romantic Sublime
- The Cambridge Companion to the Romantic Sublime
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I The Sublime before Romanticism
- Part II Romantic Sublimes
- 5 German Romanticism and the Sublime
- 6 The Romantic Sublime and Kant’s Critical Philosophy
- 7 Alpine Sublimes
- 8 Urban Sublimes
- 9 Highlands, Lakes, Wales
- 10 Science and the Sublime
- 11 Musical Sublimes
- 12 The Arctic Sublime
- 13 The Body and the Sublime
- 14 The Sublime in Romantic Painting
- 15 From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
- 16 The Sublime in American Romanticism
- Part III Legacies
- Further Reading
- Index
- Cambridge Companions To …
Summary
This chapter considers the uses of sublime blockage for science. The sublime was, on the one hand, a prod for precision and, on the other hand, a nod to skepticism and mystery, potentially ennobling an otherwise mechanical science. The chapter shows how astronomers, biologists, chemists, electricians, and natural historians and neurologists exploited sublime blockage either to elevate science above crude mechanism or butchery or to engage in skepticism so that it could arguably further scientific research. Such engagement with blockage paved the way for Franz Anton Mesmer’s quackery along with Benjamin Franklin’s efforts to defeat it, but quackery proved to be a more robust foe than anticipated.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to the Romantic Sublime , pp. 129 - 140Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023