“Per il loro diletto”: German Dilettanti in the History of Biology

The article analyzes the phenomenon of scientific biological dilettantism in the German
states ofthe 16th to early 20th centuries. It shows the emergence ofselfless aspirations for
the fundamental study of nature among Renaissance physicians and pharmacists who
rose above the purely practical needs of their professions and began the first floristic and
faunistic studies of the German lands, as well as some regions of the world remote from
Europe. The subsequent rapid development of dilettantism in the 17th—18th centuries, its
triumphant heyday in the 19th century and gradual decline in the 20th century are considered. In total, more than 150 biographies of the most significant German biologistsdilettantes in terms of their contribution to science were analyzed, of which 50% were physicians and pharmacists, 20% were school teachers, 7% were rentiers, 5% were businessmen, 5% were religious persons, and 4% were representatives of other social
groups. It was demonstrated that natural scientific dilettantism was part of general cultural
dilettantism and was significantly influenced in its motivation by art, fiction, and philosophy.