This research project recovers Georg Forster’s natural, political, and revolutionary thought. The unifying theme of Georg Forster (1754-1794) can be conceptualized as “experiencing the world”. Contrary to many of his rationalistic contemporaries, Forster sees science and politics as activities based on experience. His own experience during the second circumnavigation of the by Captain Cook lastingly influences Forster’ thought. The ways in which nature and human sociality are experienced, influences normative and political views. This research project reconstructs Forster’s experiences of travel and investigates his “surplus” of experience which eventually leads him to support the ideal of the French Revolution in the Republic of Mainz (1792-1793). Thus, this project combines approaches from political theory, intellectual history, and the history of international political thought.
