4. Critical Juncture I: The Pseudo-Humboldtian Influence

The medieval university valued truth and knowledge, but it was viewed as a philosophical domain, not a domain based in the physical world. Therefore, science had no role in the medieval university. With the organization of the University of Berlin in 1810, Wilhelm von Humboldt realized that science was going to become quite important (e.g., the Industrial Revolution), and he wanted science to be prominent in the university. He envisioned a university as a community of scholars who were focused on discovery for the sake of advancing knowledge. The community of scholars would engage in broad interaction across disciplines in order to advance knowledge through cross-fertilization of ideas. However, a key part of Humboldt’s vision that did not occur was the broad interaction across disciplines.