Humboldt and Jefferson: A Transatlantic Friendship of the Enlightenment

8. Parallels and Discrepancies

8 Parallels and Discrepancies This chapter considers three distinct yet connected topics intended to highlight the differences and similarities in Humboldt’s and Jefferson ’sconvictionsandthewaysthateachmanexpressedhisconvictions through actions. The first part focuses on their studies related to geography and explores the extent to which their thinking was influenced by the German scholar Bernhard Varenius,considered to be the founder of scientific geography. The second part analyzes the ideas and interests Jefferson and Humboldt shared, as well as the values they understood and applied differently concerning the concept of liberty, the progress and dissemination of knowledge, the meaning and function of religion,and the concept of the nation.The third part establishes the connection of their views to the European and American versions of the Age of Reason. Chain of Ideas: The Influence of Bernhard Varenius Bernhard Varenius’s Geographia generalis, published in 1650, is considered to be his most important work and one of the first to introduce a more systematic approach to the subject of geography; it set the scientific standard for more than a century. Geographia generalis was also the first textbook to be used in general geography courses in an American college.¹ Thus, it is interesting to note the extent to which the ideas, as well as the conception of geography expressed in Varenius’s book, may have influenced two of his famous successors, Jefferson and Humboldt, and to what extent they may have further developed his ideas. The history of ideas is a continuum: theories are taken from scholars of the past and developed; one’s own ideas are taken by future generations and molded by them. Rebok, final pages.indd 126 Rebok, final pages.indd 126 2/27/14 10:56 AM 2/27/14 10:56 AM parallels and discrepancies 127 The Greek term geographia means “to describe or write about the Earth” and is therefore a very broad concept that encompasses the study of the land, its features and inhabitants, and other phenomena . Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) was the first person to use the word“geography,” which is considered to be among the oldest of all sciences and from which developed other scientific fields such as biology, anthropology, geology, mathematics, astronomy, and chemistry . In order to establish a division within geography,William Pattinson defined four historical traditions within it: spatial analysis of natural and human phenomena, area studies, study of the man-land relationship, and research in the earth sciences.² Despite its long history, however, it was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that geography was recognized as a formal academic discipline and became part of a typical university curriculum. Many geographic societies were formed during the nineteenth century,such as the Société de Géographie in 1821, the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1830, the Russian Geographical Society in 1845, the American Geographical Society in 1851, and the National Geographic Society in 1888. Modern geography is an all-encompassing discipline that still audaciously seeks to understand the earth and all of its human and natural complexities. It is commonly divided into two major branches: cultural or human geography, and physical geography. Cultural geography deals with the impact of human activities on the earth, while physical geography studies the features of the natural environment, in particular elements, processes, and patterns such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. From the birth of geography during the Greek classical period until the late nineteenth century, the field of geography was almost exclusively a natural science. While Humboldt and Carl Ritter are considered the founding fathers of modern geography,Humboldt’s contributions are stronger in the field of the physical geography, while Ritter was more concerned with human geography. The connection between the physical and human properties of geography is most apparent in the theory of environmental determinism. Popularized in the nineteenth century by Ritter and later by Friedrich Ratzel, environmental determinism sees in physical,mental,and moral habits a direct connection to the influence of natural environment. Both Humboldt and Ritter are recognized for their efforts to turn geography into a formal academic discipline: Humboldt’s fiveRebok , final pages.indd 127 Rebok, final pages.indd 127 2/27/14 10:56 AM 2/27/14 10:56 AM 128 humboldt and jefferson volume Cosmos is considered a pivotal work and a successful attempt to unify various branches of...