Johann Heinrich Lamberts Cosmologische Briefe

Abstract

Lambert, cosmological letters, fixed stars, nebulae, island universe, teleology, teleological, enlightenment, enlightened, romanticism, romantic, hypothesis, physical-teleological, speculation, imagination, stability, solar system, cosmology, astronomy, comet, magic, alchemy, pietism, science, arts, philosophy, Newtonian. - Johann Heinrich Lamberts Cosmological Letters was published 1761 in Augsburg. Lambert tried to expose a theory of the structure of the universe as a whole, that is, a theory that was able to involucrate all sorts of observed celestial bodies, like 'fixed stars' und nebulae. Lambert tackles his task mixing two disciplines, which in principle seem to be incompatible: Newtonian physics and teleology. Lambert's speculative and imaginative way to formulate his hypotheses shows resemblances to the way of making science developed during the romantic period, disagreeing with the methods of enlightenment, movement to which Lambert is usually associated. A central aspect of this thesis is to study Lambert's figure in relation to this two traditions, with the finality to deal with the compression of his ideas in depth, in light of the transition between the enlightened vision of the world and the romantic one.