The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century
"'Knowledge' is a particularly volatile substance. As a social dimension, different from the various concepts of knowledge in philosophy, it is the invention of a science that is less than a hundred years old, the sociology of knowledge. It advances what was called 'spirit' in idealistic philosophy was, in the middle of society, related to life practices and social situations. 'Knowledge' (German: Wissen) is a somewhat narrower term than the all-encompassing concept of 'culture' (German: Kultur)." "In the 19th century, the old concept of 'science' was enriched for the first time by aspects that we firmly associate with it today. The subject system, as it is still used, only goes back to this era. Modern institutional forms of knowledge acquisition and dissemination were created: the research university, the laboratory, the humanities seminar. The relationships between science and its applications in technology and medicine became closer."