Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Natural economy
(1,658 words)

1. “Economy” of nature as a cultural concept

Just as human beings frequently imagined their gods anthropomorphically, so too have they used terminology from human culture in their observations and descriptions of nature. An apparently extra-human nature, observed by this culture, could be conceptualized in familiar terms. An example is the application of the term “household” or “household economy” as…

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Biehler, Birgit, “Natural economy”, 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 28 May 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_024623>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20200128



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