Charles Nodier i wieża Babel nauki
Charles Nodier’s Scientific Tower of Babel

Summary/Abstract: Throughout his career as a naturalist and science journalist, Charles Nodier investigated the language of natural science, which was undergoing a revolutionary transformation at the beginning of the nineteenth century. From a fervent supporter of the technical language of science – which he calls “the algebra of the naturalist method” – Nodier evolves towards a much more critical position on scientific nomenclature, accusing it of building a new Tower of Babel. From the 1820s, inspired by Charles Bonnet, Nodier begins to celebrate the picturesque harmonies of nature, abandoning the scientific style in favour of poetic description. This new poetics of the wonders of nature had a marked effect on his prose, particularly on his Scottish Trilogy.

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