Friedrich Paulsen (; July 16, 1846 – August 14, 1908) was a German Neo-Kantian

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 ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Biography

He was born at Langenhorn ( Schleswig) and educated at the

Gymnasium Christianeum The Gymnasium Christianeum is a famous former Latin school (German: ''Lateinschule'') in Hamburg, northern Germany. Founded in 1738 by King Christian VI of Denmark, it is now housed in a building planned by Danish designer Arne Jacobsen. Hi ...

, the University of Erlangen, and 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 ...

. He completed his doctoral thesis under Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg at Berlin in 1871, he

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

there in 1875, and he became extraordinary 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. ...

and

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

there in 1878. In 1896 he succeeded

Eduard Zeller Eduard Gottlob Zeller (; 22 January 1814, Kleinbottwar19 March 1908, Stuttgart) was a German philosopher and Protestant theologian of the Tübingen School of theology. He was well known for his writings on Ancient Greek philosophy, especially ...

as professor of

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...

at Berlin. He was the greatest of the pupils of Gustav Theodor Fechner, to whose doctrine of

panpsychism In the philosophy of mind, panpsychism () is the view that the mind or a mindlike aspect is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality. It is also described as a theory that "the mind is a fundamental feature of the world which exists thro ...

he gave great prominence by his ''Einleitung in die Philosophie'' (1892; 7th ed., 1900; Eng. trans., 1895). He went, however, considerably beyond Fechner in attempting to give an

epistemological Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

account of the knowledge of the psychophysical. Admitting

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

's hypothesis that by inner sense we are conscious of

mental states A mental state, or a mental property, is a state of mind of a person. Mental states comprise a diverse class, including perception, pain experience, belief, desire, intention, emotion, and memory. There is controversy concerning the exact definiti ...

only, he holds that this consciousness constitutes a knowledge of the

thing-in-itself In Kantian philosophy, the thing-in-itself (german: Ding an sich) is the status of objects as they are, independent of representation and observation. The concept of the thing-in-itself was introduced by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, and ...

which Kant denies. Soul is, therefore, a practical reality which Paulsen, with

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...

, regards as known by the act of

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wi ...

. But this will is neither rational

desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like " wanting", " wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of ...

, unconscious irrational will, nor

conscious Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

intelligent will, but an

instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

, a will to live (''Zielstrebigkeit''), often subconscious, pursuing

ends End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: **End (category theory) **End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) ** End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron football ...

, indeed, but without

reasoning Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, langu ...

as to means. This conception of will, though consistent and convenient to the main thesis, must be rigidly distinguished from the ordinary significance of will, i.e. rational desire.Concerning

, he did influence namely his student and later friend, the German founder of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

Ferdinand Tönnies Ferdinand Tönnies (; 26 July 1855 – 9 April 1936) was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social g ...

. Paulsen is almost better known for his educational writings than as a pure philosopher, including his ''German Education, Past and Present'' (Eng. trans., by I. Lorenz, 1907).

Works

Among his other works are: *''Versuch einer Entwickelunggeschichte der Kantischen Erkenntnistheorie'' (Leipzig, 1875) *''Im. Kant'' (1898, 1899) * * ''Geschichte des gelehrten Unterrichts auf den deutschen Schulen und Universitäten'' (1885, 1896) * '' System der Ethik'' (1889, 1899; Eng. trans. artial1899) * ''Das Realgymnasium u. d. humanist. Bildung'' (1889) * ''Kant d. Philos. d. Protestantismus'' (1899) * ''Schopenhauer, Hamlet u. Mephistopheles'' (1900) * ''Philosophia militans'' (1900, 1901) * ''Parteipolitik u. Moral'' (1900)

Notes

References

External links

*
fps-niebuell.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulsen, Friedrich 1846 births 1908 deaths 19th-century educators 19th-century essayists 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German philosophers 20th-century educators 20th-century essayists 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German philosophers Action theorists German consciousness researchers and theorists Continental philosophers Epistemologists German ethicists German humanists German male essayists German male non-fiction writers Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Humboldt University of Berlin faculty Kantian philosophers Metaphysics writers Moral philosophers Ontologists Panpsychism Philosophers of education Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophers of literature Philosophers of mind Philosophers of war Philosophy academics Philosophy teachers Philosophy writers Political philosophers Rationalists Rationality theorists

Biography

Works

See also

Notes

References

External links