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Rudolf Christoph Eucken (; 5 January 184615 September 1926) was a German
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 ...
. He received the 1908 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his earnest search for truth, his penetrating power of thought, his wide range of vision, and the warmth and strength in presentation with which in his numerous works he has vindicated and developed an idealistic philosophy of life", after he had been nominated by a member of the
Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...
.


Early life

Eucken was born on 5 January 1846 in Aurich, then in the
Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hano ...
(now
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
). His father, Ammo Becker Eucken (1792–1851) died when he was a child, and he was brought up by his mother, Ida Maria (1814–1872, née Gittermann). He was educated at Aurich, where one of his teachers was the classical philologist and philosopher Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Reuter (1803–1881). He studied at
Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...
(1863–66), where
Hermann Lotze Rudolf Hermann Lotze (; ; 21 May 1817 – 1 July 1881) was a German philosopher and logician. He also had a medical degree and was well versed in biology. He argued that if the physical world is governed by mechanical laws and relations, then dev ...
was one of his teachers, and
Berlin University 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 o ...
. In the latter place,
Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg (30 November 1802 – 24 January 1872) was a German philosopher and philologist. Life He was born at Eutin, near Lübeck. He was placed in a gymnasium in Eutin, which was under the direction of , a philologist i ...
was a professor whose ethical tendencies and historical treatment of philosophy greatly attracted him.


Career

Eucken received his PhD in classical
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...
and
ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
at
Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...
in 1866 with a dissertation under the title ''De Aristotelis dicendi ratione''. However, the inclination of his mind was definitely towards the philosophical side of
theology 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 ...
. In 1871, after five years working as a school teacher at
Husum Husum (, frr, Hüsem) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of ...
, Berlin und
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
, he was appointed 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. Some s ...
at the University of Basel,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, succeeding another of his former teachers at Göttingen,
Gustav Teichmüller Gustav Teichmüller (November 19, 1832 – May 22, 1888) was a German philosopher. His works, particularly his notion of perspectivism, influenced Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy. Biography Teichmüller was born in Braunschweig in the Duchy ...
, and beating Friedrich Nietzsche in competition for the position. He stayed there until 1874 when he took up a similar position at the
University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The u ...
. He stayed there until he retired in 1920. In 1912–13, Eucken spent half of the year as an exchange professor at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and in 1913 he served as a Deem lecturer at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, t ...
. During World War I, Eucken, like many of his academic colleagues, took a strong line in favour of the causes with which his country had associated itself.


Ethical activism

Eucken's philosophical work is partly historical and partly constructive, the former side being predominant in his earlier, the latter in his later works. Their most striking feature is the close organic relationship between the two parts. The aim of the historical works is to show the necessary connection between philosophical concepts and the age to which they belong; the same idea is at the root of his constructive speculation. All philosophy is
philosophy of life (; meaning 'philosophy of life') was a dominant philosophical movement of German-speaking countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which had developed out of German Romanticism. emphasised the meaning, value and purpose of life as ...
, the development of a new culture, not mere
intellectualism Intellectualism is the mental perspective that emphasizes the use, the development, and the exercise of the intellect; and also identifies the life of the mind of the intellectual person. (Definition) In the field of philosophy, the term ''intell ...
, but the application of a vital religious inspiration to the practical problems of society. This practical idealism Eucken described by the term "ethical activism." In accordance with this principle, Eucken gave considerable attention to social and educational problems. He maintained that humans have
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
s, and that they are therefore at the junction between nature and spirit. He believed that people should overcome their non-spiritual nature by continuous efforts to achieve a spiritual life, another aspect of his ethical activism and
meaning of life The meaning of life, or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?", pertains to the significance of living or existence in general. Many other related questions include: "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", or "Wha ...
.


Later life and death

Rudolf Eucken married Irene Passow (1863–1941) in 1882 and had a daughter and two sons. His son
Walter Eucken Walter Eucken (; 17 January 1891 – 20 March 1950) was a German economist of the Freiburg school and father of ordoliberalism. He is closely linked with the development of the concept of "social market economy". Early life Walter Eucken was born ...
became a famous founder of ordoliberal thought in economics. His son
Arnold Eucken Arnold Thomas Eucken (3 July 1884 – 16 June 1950) was a German chemist and physicist. He examined the energy states of the Hydrogen atom and contributed to knowledge of the atomic structure. He also contributed to chemical engineering and proce ...
was a chemist and physicist. Rudolf Eucken died on 15 September 1926 in
Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
at the age of 80.


Major works

He was a prolific writer; his best-known works are:
''Die Lebensanschauungen der großen Denker''
(1890; 7th ed., 1907; 1918; Eng. trans., W. Hough and Boyce Gibson, ''The Problem of Human Life'', 1909) (The Problem of Human Life as Viewed by the Great Thinkers) * ''Der Kampf um einen geistigen Lebensinhalt'' (1896) (The Struggle for a Spiritual Content of Life)
''Der Wahrheitsgehalt der Religion''
(1901) (The Truth of Religion)
''Grundlinien einer neuen Lebensanschauung''
(1907) (Life's Basis and Life's Ideal: The Fundamentals of a New Philosophy of Life)
''Der Sinn und Wert des Lebens''
(1908) (The Meaning and Value of Life) * ''Geistige Strömungen der Gegenwart'' (1908; first appeared in 1878 a
''Die Grundbegriffe der Gegenwart''
Eng. trans. by M. Stuart Phelps, New York, 1880) (Main Currents of Modern Thought) * ''Können wir noch Christen sein?'' (1911)
Can We Still Be Christians?
1914) * ''Present Day Ethics in their Relation to the Spiritual Life'' (1913) (Deem Lectures given at New York University) * ''Der Sozialismus und seine Lebensgestaltung'' (1920)
Socialism: an Analysis
(1922)) Other notable works are: * ''Die Methode der aristotelischen Forschung'' (1872) (The Aristotelian Method of Research) * ''Geschichte der philosophische Terminologie'' (1879) (History of Philosophical Terminology) * ''Prolegomena zu Forschungen über die Einheit des Geisteslebens'' (1885) (Prolegomena to Research on the Unity of the Spiritual Life) * ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der neueren Philosophie'' (1886, 1905) (Contributions to the History of the Newer Philosophies) * ''Die Einheit des Geisteslebens'' (1888) (The Unity of the Spiritual Life)
''Thomas von Aquino und Kant''
(1901) (Thomas Aquinas and Kant) * ''Gesammelte Aufsätze zu Philosophische und Lebensanschauung (1903) (Collected Essays on Views of Philosophy and Life) * ''Philosophie der Geschichte'' (1907) (Philosophy of History) * ''Einführung in die Philosophie der Geisteslebens'' (1908; Eng. trans., The Life of the Spirit, F. L. Pogson, 1909, Crown Theological Library) (Introduction to the Philosophy of the Life of the Spirit)
''Hauptprobleme der Religionsphilosophie der Gegenwart''
(1907) (Main Problems of the Current Philosophy of Religion) Other English translations of his work include: * ''Liberty in Teaching in the German Universities'' (1897) * ''Are the Germans still a Nation of Thinkers?'' (1898) * ''Progress of Philosophy in the 19th Century'' (1899) * ''The Finnish Question'' (1899) * ''The Present Status of Religion in Germany'' (1901)
''The Problem of Human Life as Viewed by the Great Thinkers from Plato to the Present Time''
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1909.
''Back to Religion''
1912.
''Main Currents of Modern Thought: A Study of the Spiritual and Intellectual Movements of the Present Day''
T. Fisher Unwin, 1912.
''The Meaning and Value of Life''
A. and C. Black, 1913.
''Can we Still be Christians?''
The Macmillan Company, 1914.
''Collected Essays''
T. Fisher Unwin, 1914.
''Knowledge and Life''
(translation), G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1914. He delivered lectures in England in 1911 and spent six months lecturing at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and elsewhere in the United States in 1912–1913.


References


Further reading

* Beck, Friedrich Alfred. ''Rudolf Eucken,'' Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, 1927. * Booth, Meyrick
''Rudolf Eucken: His Philosophy and Influence,''
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1913. * Feuling, Daniel
''"Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy,"''
The Dublin Review, Vol. CLV, July/October, 1914. * Gibson, W. R. Boyce
''Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy of Life,''
A. & C. Black, 1915. * Jones, Abel J
''Rudolf Eucken: A Philosophy of Life,''
T. C. & E. C. Jack, 1913. * Jones, W. Tudor. ''Rudolf Eucken: His Life and Philosophy,'' Haldeman-Julius Co., 1920. * MacSwiney, Margaret Mary
''Rudolf Eucken and the Spiritual Life,''
National Capital Press, 1915.


External links

*

at Nobel-winners.com *
List of Works
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eucken, Rudolf Christoph 1846 births 1926 deaths German male writers German Nobel laureates German philosophers German spiritualists Harvard University staff Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Moral philosophers Nobel laureates in Literature People from Aurich People from the Kingdom of Hanover University of Göttingen alumni University of Jena faculty