Alexander von Humboldt and Globalization

In this intellectual biography, one of the most renowned Humboldt researchers, Ottmar Ette, introduces Alexander von Humboldt, who was not only an author and an intellectual, but also a philosopher familiar with the most diverse cultures as well as a natural scientist experimenting with new forms of empirical science.

There was a long period of time when Alexander von Humboldt was misunderstood as simply a historically interesting figure. Eventually he was recognized for the outstanding quality of his literary and scientific writing, and his significance as a prophet of globalization is uncontested. The author delineates the emergence of Humboldt's line of thought, investigates the revolutionary historical and scientific context that was so important for Alexander von Humboldt, and illuminates the European roots of this world citizen from Berlin. He also describes him as a thinker at the intersection of romanticism and modernity while relating Humboldt's pertinence as a researcher and author who, by no coincidence, is being widely studied by the public in this time of fast-paced globalization. The very heart of the book is the fundamental connection between travel and knowledge, mobility and science.

»You would be hard-pressed to find someone who knows Humboldt’s writings better than Ette.« Jens Bisky, Süddeutsche Zeitung

»The Potsdam-based Romanicist Ottmar Ette belongs among the international elite of Humboldt-research.« Andreas Eckert, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung