LIMITES HISTORIAE NATURALIS ORATIO QUA LECTIONES SUAS IN ACADEMIA VILNENSI AUSPICATUS EST

Abstract

The author presents his panoramic (and comprehensive) vision of natural history, including—in addition to botany, zoology and mineralogy—also issues in the field of sciences that only later emerged and became independent, such as general biology, geology and paleontology. He refers to his own experiences gained during numerous journeys, including the longest, three-year trip around the world3 (which resulted in, among others, the description of 75 new genera and 265 species of tropical flora). The philosophical foundation of his narrative is an original concept of nature (inorganic and organic) perceived in a holistic and evolutionary way.

Keywords

• (materialistic) philosophy of nature of the 18th century
• the idea of pre-biological and biological evolution