August Ludwig Hülsen (3 March 1765 – 24 September 1809), also known by the pseudonym Hegekern, was a German philosopher, writer and pedagogue of early

German Romanticism German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German vari ...

. His thought played a role in the development of

German idealism German idealism is a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutionary ...

Life

Hülsen was born in Aken. In 1785 he enrolled at the university of Halle to study theology. He attended Friedrich August Wolf's lectures on classical philology. After his initial studies he rejected office as a preacher and became a private tutor, active in Görtzke bei Ziesar. As a tutor he was able to meet Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, an important writer of German Romanticism. In 1794 he enrolled for the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

and attended the lectures of

Karl Leonhard Reinhold Karl Leonhard Reinhold (; ; 26 October 1757 – 10 April 1823) was an Austrian philosopher who helped to popularise the work of Immanuel Kant in the late 18th century. His "elementary philosophy" (''Elementarphilosophie'') also influenced German ...

, a leading interpreter of

Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel 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, et ...

's philosophy. In 1795 Hülsen shifted to the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

, where J. G. Fichte had succeeded Reinhold as a teacher. During this time he was also associated with the ''Gesellschaft der freien Männer''. Around 1799 Hülsen attempted to establish his own Socratic school, but the project failed. During the same period Hülsen had picked up his literary work in collaboration with the Jena Romantics.Posesorski 2012, p. 199. He later distanced himself from this circle; instead of writing scholarly treatises Hülsen wanted to promote a more "popular" spiritual culture. In 1803 Hülsen was invited by his friend Johann Erich von Berger and some other ex-members of the ''Gesellschaft'' to join their agricultural community in Holstein. He simultaneously ended his correspondence with the circle of

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel ( ; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Roma ...

. Hülsen was strongly opposed to their growing sympathy for the medieval past, which he considered reactionary. In 1804 Hülsen received a farm from his friends in the small village of Wagersrott. Henrik Steffens visited him here and reported that Hülsen and Berger had become interested in ''

Naturphilosophie "''Naturphilosophie''" (German for "nature-philosophy") is a term used in English-language philosophy to identify a current in the philosophical tradition of German idealism, as applied to the study of nature in the earlier 19th century. German ...

'' and that the both of them had conducted several experiments. In 1809 Hülsen moved with his family to Stechow near

Rathenow Rathenow () is a town in the district of Havelland (district), Havelland in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020). Overview The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Go ...

, and he died there on 24 September, at age 44.

Philosophical work

His ''Preisschrift'' illustrates the development of a Fichtean history of reason, in which the dawn of modern critical philosophy is a central achievement after a series of antitheses of systems and doctrines. It is important to note that his concept of a historical development of philosophical reason in general has preceded that of Friedrich Schelling and

Georg Hegel Georg may refer to: * Georg (film), ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg, an Internet meme See also

* George (disambiguation) {{di ...

. Hülsen also states that humanity strives after one determined universal goal (''bestimmten Zweck'').Posesorski 2012, p. 103. Fichte was pleased with Hülsen's achievement and acknowledged his ''Preisschrift'' as a text that could facilitate the reading of his own '' Wissenschaftslehre''. After finishing his ''Preisschrift'' Hülsen published other philosophical treatises in a number of journals. Most of these writings are characterized by a Fichtean style combined with more personal themes of Hülsen, such as universal equality, ''Bildung'' etc. Hülsen does not support a society of ''Gelehrten'' but rather reacts to a confused academic world where theoretical systems on truth and ''Buchstabe'' reign supreme. In opposition to these Hülsen promotes ''Geist'', ''ein kindlicher Sinn'' for the truth and ''Leben''. Other students of Fichte are characterized by the same evolution, such as Schelling and

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (; ), was a German nobility, German aristocrat and polymath, who was a poet, novelist, philosopher and Mysticism, mystic. He is regarded as an inf ...

. For Hülsen it was crucial not to write philosophical books and treatises, but to express true philosophy into living speech and the practice of life. It was thus necessary to refrain from writing and to live in harmony with nature, family and neighbour. Although Hülsen was considered a part of the ''Schlegel Kreis'' for a short period, he did differ from the circle's defining traits in a number of ways. For instance, he did not idealise art or the medieval period. In a reaction to Christianity he praised the wisdom of Ancient Greece and its mythology. Hülsen came into contact with ancient literature while attending Friedrich August Wolf's lectures on philology at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. Accounts from Rist and Fouqué also point out that Hülsen's individual philosophy was shaped and influenced by

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's (that is Platonic Socrates') philosophy and its theory of ideas.Krämer 2001, pp. 249–250.

Notes

References

*Wilhelm Flitner: August Ludwig Hülsen und der Bund der freien Männer. Naumburg (Saale) 1913. *Wilhelm Flitner: Hülsen, August Ludwig. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Vol. 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, , pp. 734–736. *Ezequiel L. Posesorski: Between Reinhold and Fichte: August Ludwig Hülsen's Contribution to the Emergence of German Idealism. Karlsruhe: Karlsruher Institut Für Technologie, 2012. *Carl von Prantl: Hülsen, August Ludwig. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Vol. 13, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 333.

Life

Philosophical work

Notes

References

Further reading