Abstract
Anton Dohrn projected the Stazione Zoologica as composed of two complementary halves: nature and culture. This attitude was not only expression of the general cultural background of the nineteenth century cultural elite, for Dohrn both formed a coherent and organized whole. In my essay I will analyse the different levels of the relationship between music and biology. In particular, I will demonstrate that both share similar “styles of thought”. In the last part I will show that Dohrn’s most important scientific contribution, the concept or “principle” of Functionswechsel, provides evidence for the link he had established between music and biology
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Notes
In a letter of June 4, 1896 from Naples to his nephew Harold, Joachim mentioned his trips in the Bay and his discussions with Anton Dohrn, “a most charming fellow” (Bickley 1914).
Anton Dohrn to Marie Dohrn, Aug. 22, 1888, Hoekendorf, Bd. 543, quoted in Groeben 1985. It is of interest to note that “deed” means “act”, and it is used to replace logos (the verb) in John’s Evangel. The logos means also to give form, in the platonic sense, as the essence of things, and it is the form which “acts” in the world.
Anton Dohrn to Marie Dohrn, Aug. 1, 1886, Naples. Bd. 372, quoted in Groeben 1985.
Anton Dohrn to Marie Dohrn, Aug. 1883, Stettin Bd. 246.
A. Dohrn to Ch. Darwin, Jena, 30. Nov. 1867, in: Darwin and Dohrn 1982, p. 21: “Isn’t that most striking? Such a change of function?”.
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Fantini, B. Music and biology at the Naples Zoological Station. HPLS 36, 346–356 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-014-0045-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-014-0045-7