Eduard von Hartmann
| Eduard von Hartmann | |
|---|---|
von Hartmann in 1885
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| Born |
February 23, 1842 Berlin, Prussia |
| Died | June 5, 1906 (aged 64) Berlin, German Empire |
| Alma mater | |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School |
Transcendental realism Philosophical pessimism Metaphysical voluntarism Pantheism |
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Main interests
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Metaphysics, ethics |
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Notable ideas
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the unconscious (das Unbewusste) |
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Influenced
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Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann (February 23, 1842 – June 5, 1906) was a German philosopher.
He was born in Berlin and was educated with the intention of a military career. He entered the artillery of the Guards as an officer in 1860, but was forced to leave in 1865 because of a knee problem. After some hesitation between music and philosophy, he decided to make the latter his profession, and in 1867 obtained a Ph.D. from the . He subsequently returned to Berlin. For many years, he lived a retired life of study, doing most of his work in bed, while suffering great pain. He died at Gross-Lichterfelde and is buried in an honorary grave in the Columbiadamm Cemetery in Berlin.
His reputation as a philosopher was established by his first book, Philosophy of the Unconscious (1869; 10th ed. 1890). This success was largely due to the originality of its title, the diversity of its contents (von Hartmann professing to obtain his speculative results by the methods of inductive science, and making plentiful use of concrete illustrations), its fashionable pessimism and the vigour and lucidity of its style. The conception of the Unconscious, by which von Hartmann describes his ultimate metaphysical principle is, fundamentally, not as paradoxical as it sounds, being merely a new and mysterious designation for the Absolute of German metaphysicians.
The Unconscious is both Will and Reason (the latter concept also interpreted as Idea) and the absolute all-embracing ground of all existence. Von Hartmann thus combines pantheism with panlogism in a manner adumbrated by Schelling in his positive philosophy. Nevertheless, Will and not Reason is the primary aspect of the Unconscious, whose melancholy career is determined by the primacy of the Will and the latency of the Reason. Will is void of reason when it passes from potentiality to actual willing. The original state of the Unconscious is one of potentiality, in which, by pure chance, the Will begins to strive. In the transition state, called that of the empty Will, there is no definite end. Acting on its own, the Will creates absolute misery.
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