Hugo Bergmann ( Hebrew: שמואל הוגו ברגמן; December 25, 1883 – June 18, 1975) was an Israeli

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, born in Prague.

Biography

Hugo Samuel Bergmann was born and raised in Prague, Austria-Hungary. He was a member of the Prague intelligentsia visiting the salon group that met at the house of

Berta Fanta Berta Fanta (née Sohr; May 19, 1865 – December 18, 1918), was a literary and intellectual figure from Prague. She was at the centre of the Prague intelligentsia with a "salon" meeting at her house. Life Berta was born in 1865 to a well-of ...

. Bergmann married her daughter Else Fanta. Bergmann and his wife immigrated to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in 1920.Spector, Scott. "Bergmann, Hugo." YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe 27 July 2010. 2 February 201
link
/ref> They lived in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. Bergmann served as the director of the Jewish National Library between 1920 and 1935. He brought Gershom Scholem from Germany to serve as the head of the Judaica Division. Together with Martin Buber, he founded Brit Shalom, an organization espousing a binational solution for promoting the co-existence of Jews and Arabs in the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Bergmann was the father of

Martin S. Bergmann Martin S. Bergmann (February 15, 1913 – January 22, 2014) was a clinical professor of psychology of the New York University post-doctoral program where he taught the course on the history of psychoanalysis. He was a major voice in the post-Fre ...

, professor of psychology at New York University, the uncle of the Czech philosopher and historian

Pavel Bergmann Pavel Bergmann (14 February 1930, in Prague – 17 April 2005, in Prague) was a Czech historian, philosopher, a signatory of the Charter 77 manifesto, and a founding member of the Civic Forum. Early life Pavel Bergmann was born in Prague, Czech ...

and the grandfather of the American director, writer and producer Michael Bergmann.

Academic career

Hugo Bergman receives Honorary Doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1959 c

He became a professor at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, and later on the dean of the university. He was friends with Franz Kafka, who was a schoolmate of his, the philosopher Felix Weltsch, who later worked at the

Hebrew University Library The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...

in Jerusalem, and Max Brod, whom he introduced to Zionism before 1910. He wrote on the nature of quantum mechanics and causality where he interpreted spontaneity in nature with the psychological idea that the closer we come to elements in nature or components in the individual, the less tenable is strict causal determinism and the more freedom we must grant to decisive personal elements: "In corresponding areas of physics, the statistical law of averages takes on the same functions in determining temporal position and in prediction and reconstruction that the strict law of causality previously covered, but with the distinction that the individual case could be temporally located and predicted or reconstructed before, whereas now we deal only with the average." (1929) He translated several of Rudolf Steiner's books about Threefold Social Order into Hebrew.

Awards and recognition

* Bergmann was twice a recipient of the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

: ** in 1954, for the humanities ** in 1974 for his special contribution to society and the State of Israel. * He was a recipient of the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award in 1967, the year of the award's inauguration. City of Jerusalem official web site * He is also a recipient of the Tchernichovsky Prize for exemplary translation.

References

External links

Jewish Virtual Library

** https://web.archive.org/web/20050112202325/http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/HEBREW/people/hogo.html ** https://web.archive.org/web/20041115133337/http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/german/people/Hugo_Samuel_Bergmann.html *

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050910162553/http://www.phil.muni.cz/fil/scf/bergmn.html * http://www.uncletaz.com/waage/waagenglish2.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergmann, Hugo Jewish philosophers Zionists Austro-Hungarian Jews Czechoslovak emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Writers from Prague Israel Prize in humanities recipients Israel Prize in humanities recipients who were philosophers Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients Librarians at the National Library of Israel Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities 1883 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Israeli philosophers

Biography

Academic career

Awards and recognition

Further reading

See also

References

External links