František Mareš (20 October 1857 – 6 February 1942) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

and

philosophy 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 ...

, and a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was rector of the

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in 1920–21, and a member of the National Democrats.

Life

Mareš was born in Opatovice. He studied philosophy and medicine in Prague (postgraduate in Vienna), graduating in 1886. He became a professor in 1890. He became a chairman of the Physiology Institute of the Charles University in 1895, continuing in that capacity until 1928. In 1914 and 1920, he was appointed rector of the Charles University for one year. He was many times appointed dean of Faculty of Medicine. He held an honorary doctorate from the Mayo clinic. During the war and after the independence of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

in 1918, Mareš became active in the Czechoslovak nationalist movement. He was an active member of the National Democrats, and became a member of the Revolutionary National Assembly of Czechoslovakia in 1918. In 1920, he was elected to the Senate, until the next election of 1925. At that time he became influenced by fascism, much to the dismay of the National Democratic leadership. In 1934, he was part of the leadership of the National Front (''Národní fronta''), later National Unity (''Národní sjednocení''). He was also a contributor to ''

Vlajka Český národně socialistický tábor — Vlajka (Czech National Socialist Camp — The Flag) was a Czech fascist, antisemitic and nationalist movement. Vlajka's eponymous newspaper was founded in 1928, its first editor being Miloš Maixner. ...

''. He died in České Budějovice and was entombed in Hluboká nad Vltavou.

Work

Mareš published his research papers mainly in German and French journals. The papers were oriented on metabolism, neurophysiology and winter dormancy in rodents. For medical students he prepared textbooks ''Všeobecná fysiologie'' and ''Fysiologie I-IV''. His philosophy was briefly based upon the

Vitalism Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...

and

Hans Driesch Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch (28 October 1867 – 17 April 1941) was a German biologist and philosopher from Bad Kreuznach. He is most noted for his early experimental work in embryology and for his neo-vitalist philosophy of entelechy. He has also ...

. He was a critic of

positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...

, reflected in his book ''Idealism and Realism in Natural Sciences'' (1903). He also defended the '' Rukopis královédvorský'', which were later exposed as

forgeries Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidden by law in some jurisdict ...

by scientific dating methods.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mares, Frantisek 1857 births 1942 deaths People from České Budějovice District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czechoslovak National Democracy politicians Vlajka politicians Members of the Revolutionary National Assembly of Czechoslovakia Members of the Senate of Czechoslovakia (1920–1925) 19th-century Czech philosophers 20th-century Czech philosophers Charles University alumni Academic staff of Charles University People from Austria-Hungary