Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Curiosity
(1,429 words)

1. Problem and concept

The desire to expand one's knowledge was by no means regarded as a virtue in principle in the early modern period. Rather, there was intensive and passionate debate throughout, from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, on how far curiosity (from Latin curiositas; Italian curiosità; Spanish curiosidad; French curiosité, but German Neugier, literally “craving for the new”) might legitimately go, and at w…

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Walther, Gerrit, “Curiosity”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_024740>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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