Ambiguity as Principle
This article investigates Alexander von Humboldt’s position vis-à-vis the German revolution of 1848 and illuminates the different roles that scientists played in the public arena. Humboldt never committed himself to any political ideology or national movement. Instead, he maintained ambiguity as a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Universität Potsdam
2025-07-01
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| Series: | HiN - Alexander von Humboldt im Netz. Internationale Zeitschrift für Humboldt-Studien |
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| Online Access: | https://www.hin-online.de/index.php/hin/article/view/378 |
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| author | Andreas W. Daum |
| author_facet | Andreas W. Daum |
| author_sort | Andreas W. Daum |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This article investigates Alexander von Humboldt’s position vis-à-vis the German revolution of 1848 and illuminates the different roles that scientists played in the public arena. Humboldt never committed himself to any political ideology or national movement. Instead, he maintained ambiguity as a social strategy and guiding principle to navigate through the revolutionary turmoil, interact with people of different political opinions, and stay true to his scholarly priorities. With great caution, Humboldt signaled his support for a constitutional monarchy and civil rights while remaining fearful of radical regime changes and violence. Retrospective attributes such as ‘democratic’ and ‘republican’ miss the ambiguity in his political stance and his loyalty to the Prussian king. Humboldt’s understanding of politics remained personalized and reserved; it was situational and bound to conversational settings.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-681e4d5fd04b40bda9de39ca977dd62e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2568-3543 1617-5239 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Universität Potsdam |
| record_format | Article |
| series | HiN - Alexander von Humboldt im Netz. Internationale Zeitschrift für Humboldt-Studien |
| spelling | doaj-art-681e4d5fd04b40bda9de39ca977dd62e2025-08-20T03:13:50ZdeuUniversität PotsdamHiN - Alexander von Humboldt im Netz. Internationale Zeitschrift für Humboldt-Studien2568-35431617-52392025-07-01265010.18443/378Ambiguity as PrincipleAndreas W. Daum0Department of History, State University of New York (SUNY) This article investigates Alexander von Humboldt’s position vis-à-vis the German revolution of 1848 and illuminates the different roles that scientists played in the public arena. Humboldt never committed himself to any political ideology or national movement. Instead, he maintained ambiguity as a social strategy and guiding principle to navigate through the revolutionary turmoil, interact with people of different political opinions, and stay true to his scholarly priorities. With great caution, Humboldt signaled his support for a constitutional monarchy and civil rights while remaining fearful of radical regime changes and violence. Retrospective attributes such as ‘democratic’ and ‘republican’ miss the ambiguity in his political stance and his loyalty to the Prussian king. Humboldt’s understanding of politics remained personalized and reserved; it was situational and bound to conversational settings. https://www.hin-online.de/index.php/hin/article/view/378Revolution 1848; Political Convictions; Liberalism; Constitutional Monarchy |
| spellingShingle | Andreas W. Daum Ambiguity as Principle HiN - Alexander von Humboldt im Netz. Internationale Zeitschrift für Humboldt-Studien Revolution 1848; Political Convictions; Liberalism; Constitutional Monarchy |
| title | Ambiguity as Principle |
| title_full | Ambiguity as Principle |
| title_fullStr | Ambiguity as Principle |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ambiguity as Principle |
| title_short | Ambiguity as Principle |
| title_sort | ambiguity as principle |
| topic | Revolution 1848; Political Convictions; Liberalism; Constitutional Monarchy |
| url | https://www.hin-online.de/index.php/hin/article/view/378 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andreaswdaum ambiguityasprinciple |