Karl Ludwig Michelet (4 December 1801 – 15 December 1893)
was a German

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He was born and died in Berlin.

Biography

Michelet studied at the grammar school and at

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

in his native town, took his degree as doctor of philosophy in 1824, and became professor in 1829, a post which he retained till his death.

Work

Educated in the doctrine of

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

, he remained faithful to his early teaching and spent his life defending and continuing the Hegelian tradition. His first notable work was the ''System der philosophischen Moral'' (Berlin, 1828), which develops the principles contained in his inaugural dissertation. It is an examination of the ethical theory of responsibility. In 1836 he published, in Paris, a treatise on the ''Metaphysics'' of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, written in French (''Examen critique du livre d'Aristote intitulé Metaphysique'') and crowned by the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. He wrote also two other treatises on Aristotle: ''Nikomachische Ethik'' (2nd ed., 1848) and ''Die Ethik des Aristoteles in ihrem Verhältniss zum System der Moral'' (1827). Michelet's own views are best expressed in his ''Vorlesungen über die Persönlichkeit Gottes und die Unsterblichkeit der Seele, oder die ewige Persönlichkeit des Geistes'' (1841) and ''Die Epiphanie der ewigen Persönlichkeit des Gottes'' (1844–52). The philosophical

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 ...

developed in these works has been described as a " Neo-Christian

Spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

." From 1832 to 1842 Michelet was engaged as one of the editors of Hegel's complete works, and he sought to illustrate Hegel's system in three works: ''Geschichte der letzten Systeme der Philosophie in Deutschland von Kant bis Hegel'' (2 vols., Berlin, 1837–1838), ''Entwickelungsgeschichte der neuesten Deutschen Philosophie mit besonderer Rücksicht auf den gegenwärtigen Kampf Schelling's mit der Hegelschen Schule'' (1843), and the controversial dissertation ''Schelling und Hegel'' (1839). In ''Anthropologie und Psychologie'' (1840), Michelet diverges in many respects from Hegelian principles. Other works include: ''Eine italienische Reise in Briefen'' (Berlin, 1856), ''Die Geschichte der Menschheit in ihrem Entwickelungsgange seit dem Jahre 1775 bis auf die neuesten Zeiten'' (2 vols., 1859–60), ''Naturrecht, oder Rechtsphilosophie als die praktische Philosophie'' (3 vols., 1866), ''Esquisse de logique'' (Paris, 1856), ''Hegel der unwiderlegte Weltphilosoph'' (1870), ''Wahrheit aus meinem Leben'' (1886). In 1845 Michelet founded the Berlin Philosophical Society, which has continuously represented the Hegelianism of Germany. He was the first editor of ''Der Gedanke'' (1860), the official organ of the society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michelet, Karl Ludwig 1801 births 1893 deaths 19th-century German philosophers Französisches Gymnasium Berlin alumni Writers from Berlin Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin German male writers Hegelian philosophers Philosophers from the Kingdom of Prussia