SCARCE Colloquium

Description

Thomas Morel presents at this joint SCARCE and History of Science and Knowledge Colloquium!

Abstract:
The eighteenth century has often been described as animated by a new quantifying spirit. This is precisely when a new set of disciplines, the cameral sciences, developed within the universities and courts of the Holy Roman Empire. From the moment of their birth, this body of knowledge was the subject of numerous controversies, as the very goal of improving local oeconomies through law, knowledge, and projects proved highly contentious. And yet, while Kameralismus has been the topic of countless studies, its relationship with the mathematical sciences has never been systematically examined.

In this talk, I offer preliminary reflections on the concomitant development of mathematical and cameral sciences. Both were praised by some as necessary for the common good and despised by others as abstract verbiage. Their articulation reveals entanglements that are typical of the early modern period: can nature be systematized and quantified? How can theory and practice be meaningfully combined? Can theories govern human affairs, and if so, how should they be taught in order to train civil servants? Focusing on university teaching, I show how closely connected these disciplines could be and argue that both surveyors and cameralists were instrumental in the development of state administrations.

Period	26 May 2026
Event type	Lecture series, colloquium