Name: LUIZ OTÁVIO MARTINS DUARTE
Publication date: 28/03/2025
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| CLAUDIO LUIZ ZANOTELLI | Examinador Interno |
| PAULO CESAR SCARIM | Presidente |
| SAMARONE CARVALHO MARINHO | Examinador Externo |
Summary: This dissertation seeks to synthesize the essential aspects of understanding the
construction of Alexander von Humboldt's thought, focusing on studies related to life.
Although the naturalist is placed at the center, other contributions that shaped his
vision of nature are also presented. The methodological approach follows the proposal
of Paulo César da Costa Gomes in Quadros Geográficos: uma forma de ver, uma
forma de pensar, discussed in the Methodological Framework, which guides the
presentation of results through narratives organized in "frameswotks." Gomes draws
on the methodology found in Humboldt's works, particularly Views of Nature. In
addition to the methodological framework, four other frames are presented, discussing
Humboldt's thoughts, experiences, and the concept of life within his work and history.
The analysis considers the influence of thinkers such as Kant, Goethe, Schelling,
Galvani, and Volta. Humboldt navigated between aspects and conceptions of German
natural philosophy and the French positivist tradition. Above all, he endeavored to
understand and represent nature, focusing his studies on various forms of scientific
experimentation while integrating philosophical conceptions—a relationship between
reason and experience that challenged the academic paradigms of the 18th and 19th
centuries. The dissertation also integrates aspects of the arts, aiming to align the
experiences of the trajectory presented here with reflective effects similar to those
embedded in the historical context discussed. An example of this integration is Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, which contextualizes the
scientific and cultural imagination of the studied period. Beyond the epistemological
focus, the proposal seeks to offer an experience that captures the complexity of the
relationship between Art, Philosophy, Science, Nature, and Life.
Keywords: Science, Epistemology, Humboldt, Nature, Life.
