Jacob Freudenthal (20 June 1839 – 1 June 1907) was a German

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 ...

. He was born at

Bodenfelde Bodenfelde is a municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Weser, approx. 35 km north of Kassel, and 30 km northwest of Göttingen at the southwest border of the Solling- ...

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

and died at Schreiberhau. Freudenthal received his education at the universities of Breslau and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, and at the rabbinical seminary of Breslau. After graduating from the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

(1863) he became teacher of the in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

(1863–64), whence be removed to Breslau as teacher in the

rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonia ...

seminary there, a position which he resigned in 1888. In 1875, he became lecturer in philosophy at the University of Breslau; in 1878 he was elected

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree A docto ...

, in 1888 professor, of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

. He was a member of the senate of the university in 1894–96, and dean of the philosophical faculty in 1898–99. The

Prussian Academy of Science The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berl ...

sent him to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1888 to study English philosophy, and in 1898 to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to research the life of

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, ...

. The results of these voyages were his "Beiträge zur Englischen Philosophie", in the "Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie" (iv. 450 et seq., v. 1 et seq.), and "Die Lebensgeschichte Spinoza's",

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, 1899. He contributed various essays to the publications of the Prussian Academy of Science, such as: * to the "Rheinische Museum", * to the "Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie", * to "Hermes", * to the "J. Q. R.", * to Monatsschrift Allg. Zeit. des Judenthums" He also published: * "Ueber den Begriff der ''Φαντασία'' bei Aristoteles" (1863); * "Die

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

Beigelegte Schrift über die Herrschaft der Vernunft", 1869; * "Hellenistische Studien" (1875–79); * "Ueber die Theologie des Xenophanes" (1886)

References

19th-century German philosophers Jewish philosophers 19th-century German Jews 1839 births 1907 deaths 19th-century German male writers Spinoza scholars {{Germany-philosopher-stub