Gabriel Finkelstein
My biography of Emil du Bois-Reymond, the greatest unknown intellectual of the nineteenth century, received an Honorable Mention for History of Science, Medicine, and Technology at the 2013 PROSE Awards, was shortlisted for the 2014 John Pickstone Prize (Britain's most prestigious award for the best book in the history of science), and was named by the American Association for the Advancement of Science as one of the Best Books of 2014. Read more about it here:
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-greatest-unknown-intellectual-of-the-19th-century/
Currently I am working on a study of the challenges that “scientific historians” presented to discipline of history during the 1860s and 1870s.
Supervisors: Gerald Geison, Princeton University, Harold James, R. Steven Turner, and University of New Brunswick
Phone: (303) 315-1776
Address: University of Colorado Denver
History Department, CB 182
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, Colorado 80217-3364 USA
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-greatest-unknown-intellectual-of-the-19th-century/
Currently I am working on a study of the challenges that “scientific historians” presented to discipline of history during the 1860s and 1870s.
Supervisors: Gerald Geison, Princeton University, Harold James, R. Steven Turner, and University of New Brunswick
Phone: (303) 315-1776
Address: University of Colorado Denver
History Department, CB 182
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, Colorado 80217-3364 USA
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Videos by Gabriel Finkelstein
University of Colorado Denver, Department of Philosophy Colloquium Series, 9 March 2021.
(A reworking of a section of Ch. 11 in my book).
My talk discusses Emil du Bois-Reymond (1818–1896), a German scientist who founded the discipline of electrophysiology, reformed the teaching of medicine, popularized the conservation of energy, advocated the theories of Darwin, identified the problem of consciousness, and influenced the development of pragmatism, psychoanalysis, logical positivism, and computer science.
Answer a: Systems of public health, financial stimulus, and social welfare restore equilibrium to the body politic in the same way that homeostasis restores equilibrium to the body biologic, namely, by buffering the effects of epidemic, economic, and political shocks. This can be seen in several modern examples.
Answer b: The main benefit of crises is that they spur societies to address problems that are chronic and not just acute. The main risk of crises is that they threaten to destroy populations, trust, and liberty.
Lecture #3 of "Covid-19: Colorado and Beyond," University of Colorado Denver summer lecture series, Denver, 17 June 2020.
Book by Gabriel Finkelstein
In addition to describing the pioneering experiments that earned du Bois-Reymond a seat in the Prussian Academy of Sciences and a professorship at the University of Berlin, my book also recounts du Bois-Reymond’s family origins, private life, public service, and lasting influence. Du Bois-Reymond’s lectures made him a celebrity. In talks that touched on science, philosophy, history, and literature, he introduced Darwin to German students (triggering two days of debate in the Prussian parliament), asked on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War whether France had forfeited its right to exist, and proclaimed the mystery of consciousness, heralding the age of doubt. The first modern biography in any language, "Emil du Bois-Reymond" recovers an important chapter in the history of science, the history of ideas, and the history of Germany.
Hardcover
ISBN 978-0-262-01950-7
384 pages, 7 x 9 in, 15 b/w illustrations
Endorsements
“One of the intellectual children of Johannes Müller, along with Hermann von Helmholtz, Emil du Bois-Reymond pioneered electrophysiology, advanced a materialistic analysis of life, and rose to prominence as a political force in German science. He became an advocate of Darwinian theory, yet cautioned his colleagues: there were limitations to scientific knowledge, especially explanations of consciousness. Gabriel Finkelstein, utilizing many untapped archival sources, has reconstructed the accomplishments of du Bois-Reymond in fine and fluid detail. He places this extraordinary scientist and cultural arbiter within the context of the blistering disputes among German mandarins. Finkelstein has composed a model intellectual and cultural history of the last half of the nineteenth century.”
—Robert J. Richards, Morris Fishbein Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago
“Gabriel Finkelstein presents us with a beautifully written and thoroughly researched scholarly biography; a comprehensive account of the life, times, and impact of the great neurophysiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond. It fills a major gap in the historiography of late-nineteenth century biomedical science. The chapter on Goethe and Darwin shows the broad scope not only of Du Bois-Reymond’s intellectual abilities, but also Finkelstein’s.”
—Nicolaas Rupke, Johnson Professor of History, Washington and Lee University
“In writing this insightful, thoroughly researched biography of Emil du Bois-Reymond, Gabriel Finkelstein has done an immense service not just to historians of science but to anyone interested in nineteenth-century European culture. A first-rate historian and engaging storyteller, Finkelstein recreates the world of a brilliant, witty intellectual whose innovative experiments made modern neurophysiology possible. Finkelstein takes the reader through every aspect of du Bois-Reymond’s science: his self-designed instruments, his political battles, and his obstreperous frogs. In doing so, Finkelstein shows how politics (both national and academic) and the arts permeate science, and how science drives culture as an intellectual endeavor.”
—Laura Otis, Emory University
“In this wonderful biography of Emil du Bois-Reymond, among the most important if least heralded scientists of the nineteenth century, Gabriel Finkelstein evokes a past when science and public life went hand in hand and one man could create a scientific field. Bold, carefully etched, full of telling details rendered against a rich contextual background, Finkelstein’s beautifully written book makes compelling reading.”
—Helmut Walser Smith, Martha Rivers Ingram Professor of History, Vanderbilt University
Introduction by Gabriel Finkelstein
Awards by Gabriel Finkelstein
The BSHS John Pickstone Prize will be awarded every two years to the best scholarly book in the history of science (broadly construed) in English, alternating with the Dingle Prize for the best popular book. The Pickstone Prize is very much in keeping with the Society’s mission to promote excellence in the academic field of history of science, technology and medicine.
The winning book should mark a major advance in the understanding and interpretation of the scientific past. There are no restrictions on the form of the book; specialist monographs and synthetic works, whether singly or multi-authored, are welcome. Edited volumes, however, are excluded.
The value of the Pickstone Prize is £300. The winner may also have the opportunity to give a presentation, sponsored by the BSHS, on the subject of the winning book."
Interviews by Gabriel Finkelstein
Studying du Bois-Reymond showed me that the opposite is also true. Du Bois-Reymond understood his times far better than I did, and only at the end of writing his biography did I realize that he had been guiding me all along. This was an inspiring moment. Du Bois-Reymond’s legacy is the age-old lesson that the meaning of things will not be revealed in some future apocalypse, but rather that it must be grasped here and now."
University of Colorado Denver, Department of Philosophy Colloquium Series, 9 March 2021.
(A reworking of a section of Ch. 11 in my book).
My talk discusses Emil du Bois-Reymond (1818–1896), a German scientist who founded the discipline of electrophysiology, reformed the teaching of medicine, popularized the conservation of energy, advocated the theories of Darwin, identified the problem of consciousness, and influenced the development of pragmatism, psychoanalysis, logical positivism, and computer science.
Answer a: Systems of public health, financial stimulus, and social welfare restore equilibrium to the body politic in the same way that homeostasis restores equilibrium to the body biologic, namely, by buffering the effects of epidemic, economic, and political shocks. This can be seen in several modern examples.
Answer b: The main benefit of crises is that they spur societies to address problems that are chronic and not just acute. The main risk of crises is that they threaten to destroy populations, trust, and liberty.
Lecture #3 of "Covid-19: Colorado and Beyond," University of Colorado Denver summer lecture series, Denver, 17 June 2020.
In addition to describing the pioneering experiments that earned du Bois-Reymond a seat in the Prussian Academy of Sciences and a professorship at the University of Berlin, my book also recounts du Bois-Reymond’s family origins, private life, public service, and lasting influence. Du Bois-Reymond’s lectures made him a celebrity. In talks that touched on science, philosophy, history, and literature, he introduced Darwin to German students (triggering two days of debate in the Prussian parliament), asked on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War whether France had forfeited its right to exist, and proclaimed the mystery of consciousness, heralding the age of doubt. The first modern biography in any language, "Emil du Bois-Reymond" recovers an important chapter in the history of science, the history of ideas, and the history of Germany.
Hardcover
ISBN 978-0-262-01950-7
384 pages, 7 x 9 in, 15 b/w illustrations
Endorsements
“One of the intellectual children of Johannes Müller, along with Hermann von Helmholtz, Emil du Bois-Reymond pioneered electrophysiology, advanced a materialistic analysis of life, and rose to prominence as a political force in German science. He became an advocate of Darwinian theory, yet cautioned his colleagues: there were limitations to scientific knowledge, especially explanations of consciousness. Gabriel Finkelstein, utilizing many untapped archival sources, has reconstructed the accomplishments of du Bois-Reymond in fine and fluid detail. He places this extraordinary scientist and cultural arbiter within the context of the blistering disputes among German mandarins. Finkelstein has composed a model intellectual and cultural history of the last half of the nineteenth century.”
—Robert J. Richards, Morris Fishbein Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago
“Gabriel Finkelstein presents us with a beautifully written and thoroughly researched scholarly biography; a comprehensive account of the life, times, and impact of the great neurophysiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond. It fills a major gap in the historiography of late-nineteenth century biomedical science. The chapter on Goethe and Darwin shows the broad scope not only of Du Bois-Reymond’s intellectual abilities, but also Finkelstein’s.”
—Nicolaas Rupke, Johnson Professor of History, Washington and Lee University
“In writing this insightful, thoroughly researched biography of Emil du Bois-Reymond, Gabriel Finkelstein has done an immense service not just to historians of science but to anyone interested in nineteenth-century European culture. A first-rate historian and engaging storyteller, Finkelstein recreates the world of a brilliant, witty intellectual whose innovative experiments made modern neurophysiology possible. Finkelstein takes the reader through every aspect of du Bois-Reymond’s science: his self-designed instruments, his political battles, and his obstreperous frogs. In doing so, Finkelstein shows how politics (both national and academic) and the arts permeate science, and how science drives culture as an intellectual endeavor.”
—Laura Otis, Emory University
“In this wonderful biography of Emil du Bois-Reymond, among the most important if least heralded scientists of the nineteenth century, Gabriel Finkelstein evokes a past when science and public life went hand in hand and one man could create a scientific field. Bold, carefully etched, full of telling details rendered against a rich contextual background, Finkelstein’s beautifully written book makes compelling reading.”
—Helmut Walser Smith, Martha Rivers Ingram Professor of History, Vanderbilt University
The BSHS John Pickstone Prize will be awarded every two years to the best scholarly book in the history of science (broadly construed) in English, alternating with the Dingle Prize for the best popular book. The Pickstone Prize is very much in keeping with the Society’s mission to promote excellence in the academic field of history of science, technology and medicine.
The winning book should mark a major advance in the understanding and interpretation of the scientific past. There are no restrictions on the form of the book; specialist monographs and synthetic works, whether singly or multi-authored, are welcome. Edited volumes, however, are excluded.
The value of the Pickstone Prize is £300. The winner may also have the opportunity to give a presentation, sponsored by the BSHS, on the subject of the winning book."
Studying du Bois-Reymond showed me that the opposite is also true. Du Bois-Reymond understood his times far better than I did, and only at the end of writing his biography did I realize that he had been guiding me all along. This was an inspiring moment. Du Bois-Reymond’s legacy is the age-old lesson that the meaning of things will not be revealed in some future apocalypse, but rather that it must be grasped here and now."
—Arnaldo Benini
By Jef Akst for "The Scientist" 28, no. 11 (November 1, 2014): 88.
Drawing from my scholarly biography, this essay describes du Bois-Reymond’s immediate advocacy of Darwin’s theory, arguing that the principle of natural selection was a mode of explanation congenial to his mechanical outlook. It also identifies "De rerum natura" by the Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus (99 BC – c. 55 BC) as the primary source of du Bois-Reymond’s scientific philosophy. Both points—the fact that a neuroscientist was the first German convert to Darwin, and the influence of Lucretius on his conversion—represent significant revisions to the historiography of the reception of Darwin’s theory.
—Michael Tang, 2 February 2017
in France, the German physiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond
(1818–1896) was considered the leading biologist of his
day. My talk will show how du Bois-Reymond’s immediate
context—Huguenot Berlin and the medical faculty at the
University of Berlin—contributed to his innovations in
electrophysiology, his advocacy of the theories of natural
selection and energy conservation, his reforms of medical
education, his contributions to the history of science, his
popularization of the philosophy of mind, and his defense
of Jews, Socialists, and women.
Most historians attribute the warm German reception of the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) to three factors: a native tradition of evolutionary thought, the popular writings of naturalists like Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), and a large audience of freethinkers eager to identify progress with nature. The early adoption of the principle of natural selection by the neurophysiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond (1818–1896) complicates this narrative. His example refutes the contention that Darwin owed his success in Germany to Romantic ideas of teleology, form, and development. Instead, natural selection aligned with the Lucretian reasoning that du Bois-Reymond used in his studies of neurophysiology, a perspective that favored mechanical explanations over the invocation of immaterial spirits, final causes, and supernatural interventions.
My talk describes du Bois-Reymond’s immediate advocacy of Darwin’s theory, arguing that the principle of natural selection was a mode of explanation congenial to his mechanical outlook. It also identifies "De rerum natura" by the Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus (99 BC – c. 55 BC) as the primary source of du Bois-Reymond’s scientific philosophy. Both points—the fact that a neuroscientist was the first German convert to Darwin, and the influence of Lucretius on his conversion—represent significant revisions to the historiography of the reception of Darwin’s theory.
With respect to the first question, I situate the Mission to High Asia in two contexts: on the one hand, a Romantic desire to analyze, fix, and reconstitute the characteristics of an entire region through the techniques of measurement, collection, and display, and on the other hand, a practical interest in fostering cooperation between British and Prussian institutions. With respect to the second question, I suggest that the 19th-century commitment to the collection of environmental data can only be understood as an aesthetic and moral enterprise given the general uselessness of the enterprise. And with respect to the third question, I challenge interpretations of the Mission to High Asia that wish to equate their collection of scientific knowledge with the projection of colonial power. Empire made it possible for the Schlagintweits to travel to India, but their excursions into High Asia did nothing to promote British trade, assist British rule, or dissuade British rivals. In the end, all Adolph Schlagintweit managed was to lose his head.
My account of how we got to this state focuses on the 19th century rather than the 20th. Call it the Sonderweg of historiography: in the 1860s and 1870s, just as historians were forming a profession, intelligent amateurs in Britain, France, and Germany charged that the subject was empty. Politics showed little record of improvement, they argued; if human relations changed at all, they changed pointlessly and for the worse. Science was the only activity that demonstrated any progress. Historians therefore needed to alter their focus.
The response of the historical profession to this criticism is well known: Acton’s scorn of “positivism”; the retreat of the discipline into historicism; the surrender of policy to the social sciences. The hero who emerged was Jacob Burckhardt—elegiac, snobbish, and marginal.
This is a mistake. We don’t have to choose between the comedy of final causes and tragedy of contexts. We can reclaim the territory we’ve ceded to social science. We just have to make up our minds what relevance means. It isn’t the latest stories; it’s the ones that matter.
Several key themes will be explored, including disciplinary differences in the research and publishing process, discovery platforms, archival research and print versus electronic content, and the role of social media and “impact” in decisions related to publishing and promotion. The unique perspective of a science historian will be of interest to individuals and institutions carrying out or supporting multidisciplinary research programs, as well as researchers focused on the development of digital knowledge resources, discovery platforms, and scholarly communications (book and journal publishing) in the humanities.
University of Colorado Denver
Student Commons 2600
March 16, 2016 5:30-7:30
Free and open to the public
Winner, Werner Herzog Film Prize, 2016
Winner, Peace Prize, Berlinale, 2014
Winner, Special Jury Award, Sundance, 2014
Nominee, Academy Award®, 2006
Winner, César Award, Best First Feature Film, 2006