Bruno Wille (6 February 186031 August 1928) was a German politician, writer and journalist. He was born in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, and died in

Aeschach Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major town and island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the county (''Landkreis ...

near

Lindau Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Ge ...

. He tried to make an end to the collective ideology of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD) from 1890 until 1892. Influenced by

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

, he wanted to end the tyranny of political parties and protect individuality. He considered that politics should help develop a personality and not subdue it. He was the leader of the radical youth opposition of the SPD. He did not have much support and had to leave the party in 1892. From that moment onwards, he regarded himself as an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

. In 1896 he published an account of his visits to

Joseph Dietzgen Peter Josef Dietzgen (December 9, 1828April 15, 1888) was a German socialist philosopher, Marxist and journalist. Dietzgen was born in Blankenberg in the Rhine Province of Prussia. He was the first of five children of father Johann Gottfried Ann ...

Siegburg Siegburg (i.e. ''fort on the Sieg river''; Ripuarian: ''Sieburch'') is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the banks of the rivers Sieg and Agger, 10 kilometres from the former seat of ...

, in which he speaks of the philosopher with great respect. He moved away from his anarchist viewpoint: Instead of complete

egoism Egoism is a philosophy concerned with the role of the self, or , as the motivation and goal of one's own action. Different theories of egoism encompass a range of disparate ideas and can generally be categorized into descriptive or normative ...

, he became an advocate of harmony of a community of humans. He became a great admirer of nature and wanted to become one with the world, which he regarded as an organism. He was a supporter of the

Christ Myth Theory The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that "the story of Jesus is a piece of mythology", possessing no "substantial claims to historical fact". Alternatively ...

(which had prominence in the late 19th and early 20th century in Germany, due to the Deutsche Monistenbund and rising prominence of mythicist figures such as Kalthoff, who also led to the rediscovery of

Bruno Bauer Bruno Bauer (; 6 September 180913 April 1882) was a German philosopher and theologian. As a student of G. W. F. Hegel, Bauer was a radical Rationalism, Rationalist in philosophy, politics and Biblical criticism. Bauer investigated the sources of ...

.Wille 1903.

References

Bibliography

''Die Christusmythe als monistische Weltanschauung (Ein Wort zur Verständigung zwischen Religion und Wissenschaft) Erste Ausgabe'' (Berlin: Vita Deutsches Verlagshaus, 1903)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wille, Bruno 1860 births 1928 deaths Politicians from Magdeburg German religious humanists German anarchists Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians People from the Province of Saxony