Friedrich Albert Lange (; 28 September 1828 – 21 November 1875) was a German philosopher and sociologist.

Biography

Lange was born in Wald, near

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366 ...

, the son of the

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Johann Peter Lange. He was educated at

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, where he distinguished himself in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

as much as academically. In 1852 he became a

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled afte ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

; in 1853 '' Privatdozent'' in philosophy at Bonn; and in 1858 schoolmaster at Duisburg, resigning when the government forbade schoolmasters to take part in political activities. Lange entered

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

as editor of the ''Rhein- und Ruhr-Zeitung'' in 1862 in the cause of political and social reform. His ''ceterum censeo'' can be considered to be the repeated demand for Bismarck's resignation. He was prominent in public affairs, yet found enough time to write most of his best-known books, ''Die Leibesübungen'' (1863), ''Die Arbeiterfrage'' (1865, 5th ed. 1894), ''

Geschichte des Materialismus ''History of Materialism and Critique of Its Present Importance'' (german: Geschichte des Materialismus und Kritik seiner Bedeutung in der Gegenwart) is a philosophical work by Friedrich Albert Lange, originally written in German and published in O ...

'' (1866), and '' John Stuart Mills Ansichten über die soziale Frage'' (1866). He also wrote a number of works on pedagogy and psychology. In 1863, Lange supported the socialist leader Ferdinand Lassalle in an important trial concerning the constitutional guarantee of academic freedom. From 1864 to 1866, Lange was a member of the executive committee of the Association of German Labour Unions (''Verband Deutscher Arbeitervereine''), an early organisation of the German labour movement. One of his colleagues there was August Bebel, the Social-Democratic leader who wrote of him that "he had a short and strong figure, and was of a sympathetic presence. He had magnificent eyes, and was one of the most amiable men whom I have ever known. He won the hearts of people at first sight" while also describing him as of "firm character". In 1866, discouraged by affairs in Germany, he moved to

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria ...

, near

, to become connected with the democratic newspaper, '' Winterthurer Landbote''. In 1869 he was '' Privatdozent'' at Zürich, and the next year he was appointed professor of inductive philosophy, a new position. He was also engaged in the Swiss Democratic movement and helped write the constitution of the Canton of Zurich. This was distinguished by the use of "

direct democratic Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are represe ...

" measures such as referendum and recall. Still in Zürich he recognized first signs of his illness, which led several years later to his death. The strong French sympathies of the Swiss in the Franco-Prussian War as well as the prospect for a pension for his wife in the case of his death led to his speedy resignation. He had an offer from the universities of Würzburg, Königsberg, Kiel, Gießen and Jena, but in 1872 he accepted a professorship at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

. He is sometimes credited with founding the Marburg School of

neo-Kantianism In late modern continental philosophy, neo-Kantianism (german: Neukantianismus) was a revival of the 18th-century philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The Neo-Kantians sought to develop and clarify Kant's theories, particularly his concept of the "thin ...

, along with his star pupil,

Hermann Cohen Hermann Cohen (4 July 1842 – 4 April 1918) was a German Jewish philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be "probably the most important Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth century ...

. It was Cohen, however, who pioneered the Marburg School's characteristic logicist interpretation of

Kantian philosophy Kantianism is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The term ''Kantianism'' or ''Kantian'' is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mind, ...

. In later years, Lange accepted Cohen's refutation of a psychological interpretation of the ''a priori'', to which he himself had once subscribed. Although he rejected Marxist materialism, Lange continued to influence the German Social-Democratic movement. He favoured an ethically motivated, reformist socialism. He especially influenced some leaders of the Lassallean General German Workers' Union and, posthumously, the Revisionist theoretician Eduard Bernstein, whose slogan "Kant, not cant" proclaimed his abandonment of Marxian "scientific socialism" in favour of a neo-Kantian, ethically based social reformism. Subsequent leaders of the Marburg School, such as Cohen and Natorp, continued this association with the reformist wing of the SPD. Unhappily, his body was already stricken with disease. He no longer played a role in the unification of the Lassalleans with Bebel's socialists into the unified SPD in May 1875. After a lingering illness, probably gastro-intestinal cancer, he died in Marburg in November of that year. His ''Logische Studien'' (''Logical Studies'') were published by Hermann Cohen in 1877. Lange also wrote a number of literary studies which were published posthumously. His main work, the ''Geschichte des Materialismus'' is a didactic exposition of principles rather than a history in the proper sense. According to Lange, ''to think clearly about materialism is to refute it''. There is a comprehensive school named after him, the Friedrich-Albert-Lange-Gesamtschule, in Wald, his birthplace, which is now part of the city of

Overview of his philosophy

Adopting the Kantian standpoint that we can know nothing but phenomena, Lange maintained that neither materialism nor any other

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

system has a valid claim to ultimate truth. For empirical phenomenal knowledge, however, which is all that we can look for, materialism with its exact scientific methods has done most valuable service. Ideal metaphysics, though they fail of the inner truth of things, have a value as the embodiment of high aspirations, in the same way as poetry and religion. In Lange's ''Logische Studien'', which attempts a reconstruction of formal logic, the leading idea is that reasoning has validity in so far as it can be represented in terms of space. His ''Arbeiterfrage'' advocates an ill-defined form of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. It protests against contemporary industrial selfishness, and against the organization of industry on the

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

principle of struggle for existence.

Works

* 1855: ''Über den Zusammenhang der Erziehungssysteme mit den herrschenden Weltanschauungen verschiedener Zeitalter.'' (''On the Connection Between the Educational Systems with the Dominant World Views of Different Eras.'') * 1862: ''Die Stellung der Schule zum öffentlichen Leben.'' (''The Position of the School in Relation to Public Life.'') * 1863: ''Die Leibesübungen. Eine Darstellung des Werdens und Wesens der Turnkunst in ihrer pädagogischen und culturhistorischen Bedeutung.'' (''Physical Exercise: A Presentation of the History and Essence of Gymnastics in its Pedagogical and Cultural-Historical Significance.'') * 1865: ''Die Arbeiterfrage in ihrer Bedeutung für Gegenwart und Zukunft.'' (''The Labour Question in its Present and Future Significance.'') * 1865: ''Die Grundlegung der mathematischen Psychologie. Ein Versuch zur Nachweisung des fundamentalen Fehlers bei Herbart und Drobisch.'' (''Foundations of Mathematical Psychology. Attempt at a Demonstration of the Fundamental Error of Herbart and Drobisch.'') * 1866: ''Geschichte des Materialismus und Kritik seiner Bedeutung in der Gegenwart.'' ('' History of Materialism and Critique of its Present Significance.'') * 1877: ''Logische Studien. Ein Beitrag zur Neubegründung der formalen Logik und der Erkenntnisstheorie.'' (''Logical Studies. A Contribution to the New Foundation of Formal Logic and Cognitive Theory.'')

Notes

References

A comprehensive bibliography of Lange's own works, as well as some of the secondary literature, can be found online at: http://philpapers.org/sep/friedrich-lange/. * *

und Tagblatt der Stadt Winterthur'', No. 2, 2. Januar 1876 bis No. 11, 13. Januar 1876 * Berdiajew, Nikolai, "Friedrich Albert Lange und die kritische Philosophie in ihren Beziehungen zum Sozialismus", in: ''Die Neue Zeit'', 18. Jg., (1900), 2. Bd., S. 132-140, S. 164-174, S. 196-207 * Bernstein, Eduart, "Zur Würdigung Friedrich Albert Langes", in: ''Die Neue Zeit. Revue des geistigen und öffentlichen Lebens'', 6. Jg., (1892), 2. Bd., S. 68-78, 101-109, 132-141 * Braun, Heinrich (1881), ''Friedrich Albert Lange als Sozialökonom nach seinem Leben und seinen Schriften'', Diss. Universität Halle a.d.Saale * Cohen, Hermann, "Friedrich Albert Lange", in: Treitschke, H.v./Wehrenpfennig, W. (Hrsg.), ''Preußische Jahrbücher,'' 37. Band, (1876), 4. Heft, S. 353-381 * Georg Eckert, "Friedrich Albert Lange (1828-1875) und die Social-Demokratie in Duisburg", in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 8 (1965), 1-23 * ders., ''Friedrich Albert Lange. Über Politik und Philosophie. Briefe und Leitartikel 1862-1875'' (= Duisburger Forschungen Beiheft 10); Duisburg 1968 * Elissen, Otto A. (1894), ''Friedrich Albert Lange. Eine Lebensbeschreibung'', Leipzig * Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich, "F. A. Lange als politischer Publizist", in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 145-173 * Freimuth, Frank (1993), ''Wie kultiviere ich die Freiheit bei dem Zwange? Das Bildungsverständnis Friedrich Albert Langes'', Pfaffenweiler * Grab, Walter, "F. A. Langes Zeitung »Der Bote vom Niederrhein« und die Kontinuität demokratischer Strömungen in Deutschland", in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 83-91 * Gross, Andreas / Klages, Andreas (1996), "Die Volksinitiative in den Kantonen am Beispiel des Kantons Zürich", in: Auer, A. (Hrsg.), ''Les origines de la démocratie directe en Suisse / Die Ursprünge der schweizerischen direkten Demokratie''. Actes du Colloque organisé les 27-29 avril 1995 par la Faculté de droit et le C2D, Bern, S. 267-281 * Guggenbühl, Gottfried (1936), ''Der Landbote 1836-1936. Hundert Jahre Politik im Spiegel der Presse'', Winterthur * Gundlach, Franz (1928), Catalogus Professorumm Academiae Marburgensis. Die akademischen Lehrer der Philipps-Universität Marburg. Von 1527-1910, S. 298. * Heid, Ludger, "F. A. Lange und der Preußische Verfassungskonflikt", in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 56-70 * Heinemann, Gustav (1978), "Friedrich Albert Lange - Der Vorrang der politischen vor der sozialen", in: ''Frankfurter Hefte. Zeitschrift für Kultur und Politik'', 33. Jg., Heft 2, Februar, S. 27-33. * Hirsch, Helmut, "F. A. Lange und die USA im Zeitpunkt des amerikanischen Sezessionskrieges"'','' in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 92-107 * Holzhey, Helmut, "Philosophische Kritik. Zum Verhältnis von Erkenntnistheorie und Sozialphilosophie bei F.A. Lange", in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 207-225 * Irmer, Peter, '' F.A. Lange – ein politischer Agitator in der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung''; in: Duisburger Forschungen 21 (1975), 1-19 * Jacobsen, Bjarne (1989), ''Max Weber und Friedrich Albert Lange. Rezeption und Innovation'', Wiesbaden * (with references) * Knoll, Joachim H., ''F.A. Lange - eine »merkwürdige Randfigur« in der Pädagogik des 19. Jahrhunderts''; in: Duisburger Forschungen 21 (1975), 108-132 * Ley, Hermann, ''F.A. Langes „Geschichte des Materialismus"''; in: Duisburger Forschungen 21 (1975), 174-187 * Majert, Regina, ''Friedrich Albert Lange als Präses des Vorstandes der gewerblichen Sonntagsschule in Duisburg (1860-1865)''; in: Duisburger Forschungen 23 (1976), 238-248 * Na’aman, Shlomo, ''F.A. Lange in der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung''; in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 20-55 * Plump, Klaus, "Der Nachlaß F.A. Langes im Stadtarchiv Duisburg"; in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 236-267 * ders. (1975), "Versuch einer Bibliographie der von Friedrich Albert Lange publizierten Schriften", in: Knoll, Joachim/ Schoeps, Uulius (Hrsg.), ''Friedrich Albert Lange. Leben und Werk'', Duisburg, S. 236-265 * Reichesberg, Naum (1892), ''Friedrich Albert Lange als Sozialökonom'', Dissertation Universität Bern * Sass, Hans-Martin, ''Der Standpunkt des Ideals als kritische Überwindung materialistischer und idealistischer Metaphysik''; in: Duisburger Forschungen 21 (1975), 188-206 * Sattler, Martin, "F. A. Lange: »Socialkonservativer« oder »Socialrevolutionär«"; in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 71-82 * Schoeps, Julius H., "F. A. Lange und die deutsche Turnbewegung", in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 133-145 * Schulz, Eberhard Günter (1991), ''Friedrich Albert Lange und die katholische Philosophie'', Bochum * Stack, Georg J. (1983), ''Nietzsche and Lange'', Berlin, New York * Vaihinger, Hans (1876), ''Hartmann, Dürig und Lange. Zur Geschichte der deutschen Philosophie im 19. Jahrhundert'', Iserlohn * Weyer, Adam, "Religion und Sozialismus bei F. A. Lange", in: ''Duisburger Forschungen'' 21 (1975), 226-235 * Wolff, Georg (1925), ''Friedrich Albert Langes sozialpolitische Anschauungen und seine Stellung zu Sozialismus und Sozialreform'', Dissertation Universität Gießen * Zinnel, Jürgen (2000), ''Friedrich Albert Langes Überlegungen zur direkten Demokratie unter Berücksichtigung zeitgenössischer Diskussionszusammenhänge'', Marburg

External links