Karl Friedrich Eusebius Trahndorff (aka Carl Friedrich Eusebius Trahndorff) (18 October 1782 – 15 February 1863) was a German philosopher and theologian.

Life

He was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The son of a musician, from the age of twelve Trahndorff attended the school in Oels (now Oleśnica), where his father had been appointed chapel director by the Prinz von Brunswick-Lüneburg, Frederick August I. From 1801 he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, and on completion of his studies he began a career as a high-school teacher, mostly at the Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium in Berlin but with several years in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

(1806–12). As a religious and philosophical writer, Trahndorff belonged to the

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

ist camp, opposed to theological rationalism and emphasizing the indeducible, supernatural and mystical nature of religious revelation, by implication minimizing the ability of human reason to grasp the content of faith. His polemical work ''Theos, nicht Kosmos!'' attempted to combat the growing popularity of

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

's '' Kosmos'', which he considered incompatible with scripture. Trahndorff's ''Ästhetik oder Lehre von Weltanschauung und Kunst'' is relevant to students of

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 ...

; it used the word ''

Gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. ...

'' for what is believed to be the first time.Rival Sisters, Art and Music at the Birth of Modernism, 1815-1915
edited by Mr James H Rubin, Dr Olivia Mattis

Works

* ''Der Schild des heiligen Winfried'', Berlin 1825 * ''Ästhetik oder Lehre von Weltanschauung und Kunst'' 2 Bde., Berlin 1827 * ''Wie kann der Supranaturalismus sein Recht gegen Hegel's Religionsphilosophie behaupten?'', Berlin 1840 * ''Schelling und Hegel oder das System Hegels als letztes Resultat des Grundirrtums in allem bisherigen Philosophieren'', Berlin 1842 * ''Der welthistorische Zweifel, oder: Ist Gott nur Idee oder objektive Realität?'', Barmen 1852 * ''Über die Bedeutung Berlins in der grossen Krisis unserer Zeit'', Berlin 1852 * ''Der Mensch, das Ebenbild des dreieinigen Gottes. Versuch einer dogmatischen Berichtigung'', Berlin 1853 * ''Der Teufel — kein dogmatisches Hirngespinst — Offenes Sendschreiben an den Herrn Dr Sydow, Prediger an der Neuen Kirche zu Berlin'', Berlin 1853 * ''Theos, nicht Kosmos! Denkschrift als Zeugnis für die Wahrheit'', Berlin 1859

Bibliography

* ''K. F. E. Trahndorff: der Bewußtseinsphilosoph. Ein Beitrag zur Würdigung und Hochschätzung eines verklungenen Namens'' Hrsg. v. Julius W. von Eckardt, Halle 1878. *

References

1782 births 1863 deaths University of Königsberg alumni 19th-century German philosophers Christian philosophers 19th-century German Christian theologians 19th-century German theologians German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German male writers {{Christian-philosopher-stub