ABSTRACT
The so-called “collapse of Hegelianism” around the middle of the nineteenth century gave rise to a plethora of new developments in philosophy as well as the sciences. The most immediate result of this widespread disdain for grandiose systems and idealistic constructions was an immense proliferation of the natural sciences. The German Idealists devoted signi…cant amount of time and energy to what they called Naturphilosophie as part of their speculative systems. Here one may mention Fichte, Schelling and Hegel, who made variegated attempts to “deduce” nature and natural science from an intellectual standpoint; attempts, which seem entirely dated from the perspective of modern science. Indeed, it was precisely this “speculative” manner of doing natural science, which became the main target of critique around 1850 as well.
