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1. Allgemeines und BegrifflichesR. gehört zu den wässerigen Meteoren (Komet) – so die Definition seit der Antike, die teils bis in das 19. Jh. Gültigkeit behielt. Unter Berufung auf die Meteorologie des Aristoteles zählten im geozentrischen Weltbild generell alle sich unterhalb der Mondsphäre abspielenden elementaren Prozesse (Elemente) zu den Meteoren, d.h. sie wurden nicht als Phänomene der unveränderlichen, oberhalb des Mondes verorteten Sternensphäre betrachtet, sondern als Teil der kontingenten und veränderlichen Sphäre unterhalb des Mondes (Kosmos; Sonne und Mond) [1…

1. Begriff und ÜberblickDie kreisförmige, sich wiederholende Bewegung war seit der Antike bis weit in die Nz. in Europa wie auch in anderen Kulturen eine gängige Vorstellung vom Verlauf natürlicher wie gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen. Sie galt als die vollkommenste Bewegung und der Kreis bzw. die Kugel als vollkommenster geometrischer Körper. Zugleich war damit die Vorstellung der ewigen Wiederkehr des Gleichen verbunden, einer Revolution im ursprünglichen Sinne, noch geprägt vom Verständnis des Nikolaus Kopernikus [3]; [15. 69–71]. Die Begründung des heliozentrische…

1. Begriff und christliches ErbeIn der Frage des Verhältnisses des Menschen zur Natur gibt es unterschiedliche Haltungen, die sich dadurch unterscheiden, wie die Bedeutung des Menschen dabei gewichtet wird. Der A. stellt dabei die Sichtweise und die Interessen des Menschen in den Mittelpunkt seiner Betrachtung, nicht selten in der utilitaristischen Form einer Nutzenbeziehung (Utilitarismus; Utilität): Die Natur ist für den Menschen geschaffen und daher ausschließlich in Hinsicht auf seine Nutzenbewertung bedeutsam. Alternative Modelle sind der Physiozentrismus, der die…

1. Definition und ÜberblickW. bezeichnet seit jeher die unkultivierte Natur und verweist damit auf die ursprüngliche Bedeutung des Begriffes Kultur als Kultivierung der Natur, im Sinne des gezielten Eingriffs in die ansonsten chaotisch, d. h. ohne erkennbare Ordnung, existierende oder sich entwickelnde Natur. In der jüd.-christl. Tradition bieten Schöpfung (Schöpfungslehre) und Paradies als Bilder des aus dem Chaos, der ursprünglichen Wüstenei und Leere entstehenden Kosmos und des ursprünglichen Garten Eden Bild u…

1. Begriff Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917) [11], der A. als religionswiss. Begriff einführte, gilt mit seiner Theorie der Religionsentwicklung als einer der Begründer der Religionswissenschaft. Unabhängig vom Evolutionismus dieser Tradition soll A. hier als Anschauung verstanden werden, die eine klare Trennung zwischen unbelebten bzw. unbeseelten Dingen und Lebewesen nicht akzeptiert: »Jeder Gegenstand, gleichgültig ob er aus organischen oder ob er aus anorganischen Substanzen bestand, gleichgültig ob er von Menschen gem…

1. Concept and Christian background In the question of the relationship between human beings and nature, there are various positions, which depend on how the significance of human beings (Humankind) is assessed. The approach of anthropocentrism focuses on the perspective and interests of human beings, not uncommonly in the utilitarian form of a benefit relationship (Utilitarianism): nature was created for humankind and is therefore meaningful solely in proportion to its usefulness. Alternative models…

1. Key concepts and their history Prehistoric and ancient terminological categories pervaded early modern concepts of earth. Like other elements (fire, air, water), earth was part of creation myths, coming about through the overcoming of chaos by separation and the ordering (Order [system]) of the elements (often also the separation of heaven and earth, light and darkness). Gender allocations also played an important part in the binary tetradic structure of the premodern doctrines of elements, substan…

1. DefinitionThe fact that for most known species, reproduction of animal and vegetable life is anisogamous (by the fusion of different gametes) is described by the term dimorphism (or bimorphism). The concept relates to the binary structure of the living world, a structure that is also reflected in many other spheres, such as language. Wherever nature metaphors and analogies are in use, dimorphism is a widespread conceptual and presentational model, even in fields far beyond biology.At all periods, dimorphism as a conceptual figure has also been enlisted to account …

1. Definition; history to 1700The term plant breeding denotes deliberate propagation and breeding of plants in order to improve desired traits. Increased yield, frequently by adapting to changing environmental conditions (Soil; Climate), greater nutritional value, and improved taste were primary goals for changing traits of agricultural crop plants in the early modern period, along with easier exploitability – thanks to better storage facilities, for instance, or aptitude for preservation – and greater (economic) returns. Ever since human beings became sedentary i…

1. Concept Miracles in all religions offer a way of explaining extraordinary events that run counter to everyday experience as the work of a deity, a holy person, a devil, demons, or spirits (Ghost; Devil, belief in; Demonology). The definition of the phenomenon blurs into that of magic, and boundaries are sometimes difficult to draw precisely. Miracles are performed either by the deity in person or through his or her “instruments,” meaning saints or people living saintly lives (e.g. distinguishing themselves by their asceticism), or by relics or holy places.In Greco-Roman an…

1. Concept and overviewFrom Antiquity until well into the early modern period, the idea of repetitive circular motion was a commonplace concept of the course of natural and social processes, both in Europe and in other cultures. It was regarded as the most perfect form of motion, and the circle and sphere as the most perfect geometrical bodies. At the same time, the concept was connected with the idea of eternal return, a revolution in its original sense, still colored by the ideas of Nikolaus Copernicus [3]; [15. 69–71]. The establishment of the heliocentric model in no way pre…

1. IntroductionZodiac (Greek “zōdiakos [ kyklos]”, literally “[circle] of zōdia,” i.e. small animal figures, cf.  zōdion; via Latin zodiacus) was already the term for the ring of constellations or “signs” along the ecliptic: Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. In the geocentric model, these constellations divided the heavens’ orbit into twelve equal sections (Heaven), which in turn were grouped into four sections in reference to the quart…

1. Concept The word ‘fetish’ derives from the Portugues feitiço (“spell”, “amulet”), which in turn derives from the Latin facticius (“artificial”) and is related to  feitiçeiro (“sorcerer”) and  feitiçaria (“sorcery”). The term became established in Portugal from the Late Middle Ages, and subsequently enjoyed an astonishing career in the early modern period, through to Karl Marx’ “commodity fetishism” in the 19th century [5. 13 f.].Jörn Sieglerschmidt 2. Africa Feitiços were already mentioned in Portugal in the first edict against witches (1385), and the word …

1. Etymology and definitionThe Greek words for order ( kósmos, táxis, and thésis: cosmos, order, and arrangement) correspond to the Latin term  ordo, which was borrowed by most European languages. In early modern natural philosophy,  ordo was complemented by the term  scala (“stepladder”), a hierarchical order (Scala naturae). The Greek word  cháos (“gaping void”) denoting the still disordered primal state of the world likewise prevailed in the languages of Europe as the opposite of order. These terms were used in the early modern period (an…

1. Concept Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917) [11], who coined Animism as a technical term, is regarded by dint of his theory of the development of religion as one of the founders of religious science. Regardless of the evolutionism of this tradition, Animism should here be understood as a position that does not accept a clear distinction between inanimate or unensouled things and living beings. “Every object, irrespective of whether it consisted of organic or inorganic substance, irrespective of wheth…

1. Definition and overview Contingency and chance are concepts by which, since the dawn of history, people have sought to understand the world, especially the vicissitudes and shocks of life and natural phenomena. The two belong to the same field of meaning, with contingency denoting the fundamental openness or indeterminacy of human existence and its history. Chance, meanwhile, is invoked in specific circumstances, for instance to explain particular events.Historically speaking, the concept of chance has manifested itself in various guises that considerably exp…

1. Concept and forms A herbarium in the strict sense in the early modern period was a collection of dried specimens of plants and plant parts affixed to paper. Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, who wrote a guide to the preparation of dried plants in 1700, not long after Wilhelm Lauremberg and Moritz Hofmann, saw the advantage as being able to make observations regardless of season [1. 671].In a wider sense known since antiquity, the paintings, and later prints and colored illustrations and descriptions of plants were also considered part of the phenomenon. Coll…

1. Definition Livestock are domesticated animals, as opposed to wild animals (which are also frequently of use to humans). The definition is often blurred. For example, all animals bred by humans for particular purposes could be called livestock, including not only worms, which are used in fishing, but also animals used in scientific experiments since the 18th century (Animal experimentation), or the many animals domesticated for human companionship.The term livestock is an anthropocentric one (Anthropocentrism), that is, it has meaning only in its reference…

1. IntroductionSince the dawn of human history, the heavens (Heaven) with the Sun and Moon (the governing celestial bodies of day and night) have in all cultures been a subject of mythological, symbolic, and scholarly reflection and imagination, and of intellectual curiosity. Religious rites in many of the world’s cultures also refer to the heavens to this day [21. 9–135]. In the astronomical lore of the early cultures, observing the skies yielded the practical knowledge of (and ability to forecast) the paths of the Sun, Moon, and stars; in Christi…

1. DefinitionIn many cultures since antiquity, avoidance of meat consumption has been recognized as a form of theriophily (empathic consideration for animals; see fig. 1) and has occasionally been promoted as a religious or dietary rule (Naturopathy). This avoidance has been extended occasionally to include the use of animal products, for example, for apparel. In early modern Europe, however, it is rare to find evidence for rejection of the use of all animal products (veganism, lacto-ovo-vegetari…