Astrologia i Naturphilosophie – casus Johanna Wilhelma Andreasa Pfaffa (1774-1835)
Astrology and Naturphilosophie: A Case of Johann Wilhelm Andreas Pfaff (1774-1835)

Summary/Abstract: Johann Wilhelm Andreas Pfaff (1774-1835) was a promising German mathematician and astronomer belonging to the rich in academic traditions family—he had two well-known older brothers. The present paper describes life of the youngest of Pfaffs since his theological studies in Göttingen to the time of his activity at the University of Erlangen. Following the footsteps of Claudius Ptolemy and J. Kepler, Johann Wilhelm Andreas Pfaff tried to promote astrology in the first decades of the 19th century. His efforts to strengthen astrology as a full-fledged academic discipline, instead of the expected effect, have resulted in opposition, mockery and his marginalisation in contemporary academic community. However, such personal drama of this scholar should be considered in a wider context of so-called Naturphilosophie—romantic intellectual movement, extremely popular in the contemporary intellectual circles of the German states (as well as in the Scandinavian countries).

• Details
• Contents