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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XII, 2020

Alexander von Humboldt Legacy Today

Kittisak Prokati 1

Abstract

Alexander von Humboldt, a German scholar born in 1769, was well
respected and celebrated around the world as a symbol of the liberal spirit
and the network of knowledge, as well as being one of the most well-known
world explorers in his lifetime. But he is not well recognized in Thailand and
is even said to have been forgotten. This article makes a short recollection of
this great personality and points out that although specialization of science
put Humboldt’s spirit into shadow, the realization of the interconnectedness
of knowledge and the need for networks of knowledge have made Humboldt
relevant again.

Keywords: Alexander von Humboldt, networks of knowledge, Cosmos,
Naturgemälde, colonialism, slavery

It is my great honor to have the privilege to deliver a presentation to
distinguished participants of Humboldt Kolleg from all around Southeast Asia,
as well as to representatives of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and
all colleagues from Germany on the 250 anniversary of the birth of Alexander
th
von Humboldt in this Maha - Chulalongkorn Building. Our Kolleg is a meeting
of good minds of East and West, and the Maha-Chulalongkorn Building is fit
for this purpose. This building is indeed the result of exchanges and combinations

of ideas in science and the arts between West and East in Humboldt’s spirit.
It is a work of a British architect, Edward Healey, constructed in the reign of
King Rama VI King Rama V, or King Chulalongkorn, whose name this building

1 Vice President of Alexander von Humboldt Club Thailand, Humboldt Research Fellow, Faculty
of Law, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand: This article is presented in a form of a keynote
speech delivered on 19.12.2019 at Humboldt-Kolleg, Maha Chulalongkorn Building, Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok, Thailand. The author is thankful for support of his colleague, Adam C.
Reekie, by reading and good suggestions for this article.

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