"Carl Friedrich Kielmeyer (1765-1844) was the 'father of philosophy of nature' owing to his profound influence on German Idealist and Romantic Naturphilosophie. This exciting new book contains the first ever English translations of Kielmeyer's key texts, along with contextual essays by leading scholars expert in the philosophy of nature and the formation of the life sciences. Topics covered include: the laws of nature, the meaning of 'organism', Kielmeyer and ecology, sexual differentiation in animal life and Kielmeyer's relationship to Kant, Schelling and Hegel. As such these essays provide a comprehensive English reference to Kielmeyer's historical and contemporary significance"--