Leopold Max Walther von Wiese und Kaiserswaldau (2 December 1876,
Glatz,
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
– 11 January 1969,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
) was a German
sociologist and
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
, as well as professor and chairman of the
German Sociological Association The German Sociological Association (''Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie'', DGS) is a professional organization of social scientists in Germany. Established in Berlin on January 3, 1909, its founding members included Rudolf Goldscheid, Ferdinan ...
.
Biography
Leopold von Wiese was the only son of a prematurely deceased Prussian officer and received his education at the cadet schools in
Wahlstatt
Legnickie Pole (in 1945–1948 ''Dobre Pole'', german: Wahlstatt) is a village in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Legnickie Pole.
It lies ...
and Lichterfelde. After leaving the cadet corps, he then studied economics at the
Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin where he got his
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in 1902. Subsequently, he was scientific secretary of the "Institute for the common good" (''Institut für Gemeinwohl'') in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. In 1905, he was Associate Professor of Economics at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
. In 1906, he was appointed professor of political science at the Royal Academy in
Posen; in 1908, he joined the
Technical University of Hannover
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...
as a professor of economics and business management. In 1912, he became director of studies at the Academy for Local Government (''Akademie für kommunale Verwaltung'') in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
, and in 1915 a professor at the Graduate School of Cologne (''
Handelshochschule Köln'').
After the First World War, in 1919, Wiese was appointed as Director at the Research Institute for Social Sciences (''
Forschungsinstitut für Sozialwissenschaften'') in Cologne and as Professor of Economic and Political Sciences, meaning
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
, at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...
(refounded in 1919). He had thus held the first chair of sociology in Germany. He was also Director of the Department of Sociology Founded "Institute for Social Research" which has been founded on the initiative of the Mayor
Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Demo ...
. An academic journal he co-founded in 1921, the
Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie
The ''Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie (Cologne Journal for Sociology and Social Psychology)'' is a German academic journal for sociology. It has an empirical focus on social research, both qualitatively and quantitativel ...
, still exists today.
Until 1933, Wiese was secretary of the
German Society for Sociology The German Sociological Association (''Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie'', DGS) is a professional organization of social scientists in Germany. Established in Berlin on January 3, 1909, its founding members included Rudolf Goldscheid, Ferdina ...
(DGS). After the forced closure of the DGS by
Hans Freyer
Hans Freyer (31 July 1887 – 18 January 1969) was a German conservative revolutionary sociologist and philosopher.
Life
Freyer began studying theology, national economics, history and philosophy at the University of Greifswald in 1907, with the ...
and the Research Institute for Social Sciences by the Nazis in 1934 Wiese went for a year to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. His successor was
Willy Gierlichs. Upon his return, Wiese taught economics to a closed circle of listeners.
In 1946 he became chairman of the revived DGS, which he reformed until 1955 as its chairman. In 1954 he became vice-president of the
International Sociological Association
The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociolo ...
.
Wiese is the father of the literary scholar
Benno von Wiese and the actress and writer
Ursula von Wiese.
Legacy
Wiese is known for his works on social studies. He tried to establish the presence of sociology as an independent social science, divorced from history, psychology and philosophy. Leopold von Wiese focused on the social relations between people as "
social processes" and the significance of structures as "
social construct
Social constructionism is a theory in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory which proposes that certain ideas about reality, physical reality arise from collaborative consensus, instead of pure observation of said reality. The ...
s." Together with
Georg Simmel
Georg Simmel (; ; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
Simmel was influential in the field of sociology. Simmel was one of the first generation of German sociologists: his neo-Kantian approach l ...
, he is considered the founder of
formal sociology Formal sociology is a scientific approach to sociology developed by Georg Simmel and Leopold von Wiese
Leopold Max Walther von Wiese und Kaiserswaldau (2 December 1876, Glatz, German Empire – 11 January 1969, Cologne, West Germany) was a Ge ...
. His relationship doctrine ''
Beziehungslehre'' lost its effect today at universities.
Among his pupils was
Karl Gustav Specht, co-founder of gerontology and medical sociology in Germany and Professor of Sociology at the Economic and Social Science Faculty of the
University Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Wiese's grandchildren include
Irina von Wiese
Irina Stephanie von Wiese und Kaiserswaldau (born 11 September 1967) is a British politician, who was a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London between 2019 and the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU.
Career
...
.
See also
* ''
Ethik in der Schauweise der Wissenschaften vom Menschen und von der Gesellschaft''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiese, Leopold von
German sociologists
Academic staff of Royal Academy Posen
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin
Academic staff of the University of Hanover
Academic staff of the University of Cologne
People from the Province of Silesia
1876 births
1969 deaths
20th-century German writers
20th-century German male writers
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany