Germany is a country that has given the world many outstanding philosophers. Due to the constant change of values and the variability of the spirit of the times, their impact on culture and society cannot be fully appreciated. But we know for sure that they played a huge role in the formation of not only the modern German language, but the modern world. Many beautiful and interesting parts of the human being were open to thinkers from Germany. In this article, we will introduce you to the most influential German philosophers who have left their mark on world history. Remember that philosophy is a "streamlined" science, therefore it is not at all necessary that you must be completely in agreement with all the views or theories of these individuals.
10
Martin Heidegger
According to the generally accepted opinion, Martin Heidegger is one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century. His teaching was based on the exaltation of Being, as the main element of the universe. In his writings, Heidegger criticized the modern man who deliberately separated from the wild, placing himself above it. At the initial stage, the philosopher was impressed by the theories of Aristotle, also agreeing with the theological teaching of the Catholic Church. He argued that people consciously move away from understanding life, the only thing that connects us with everything else in the world. We gathered in societies to accept the cultural aspects of life, considering them absolutely normal.
The philosopher argued that truth is born only when any theory is called into question. Thus, he wanted people to admit the incorrectness of our socialization. He considered it strange and useless, rejecting all materialistic values. Despite his estrangement from the outside world, Heidegger did not dare to join the NSDAP, fully supporting the Nazi government. The rhetoric of Nazism influenced the philosopher so much that he did not even appear at the funeral of his mentor Husserl, who was a Jew. After the end of World War II, Martin underwent denazification, later in every way denying his connection with Nazism and claiming to have broken with the authorities after 1933 (resigning as rector of the University of Freiburg). To doubt his words makes the annual renewal of the party ticket, until 1945. An interesting feature of Heidegger was the use of dialects when writing philosophical works, as well as their certain poetry.
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9
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl, a German philosopher of Jewish descent, is best known as the founder of phenomenology. Ironically, it was he who was the mentor of Heidegger, who supported the ideas of Nazism. Husserl practiced in many higher educational institutions in Germany, and his last job was at the University of Freiburg, where he met Heidegger, who eventually replaced him as head of the department. After Hitler came to power, he was removed from work and was not allowed to participate in congresses on philosophy. However, Edmund was not subjected to repression, but lived the rest of his days alone, leaving the world in 1938.
Phenomenology is the main idea of Husserl, focusing on conciseness and experience. Husserl believed that applying a scientific approach would help to understand the true nature of consciousness. Such a theory should not surprise, because Edmund practiced not only philosophy, but also mathematics. He paid much attention to the basics of mathematics, releasing the work of the Philosophy of Arithmetic. The study of logic led to two parts of the study of logic. According to the followers of Husserl, his works helped to create an environment for the emergence of psychoanalysis, which makes him one of the most influential figures of his time.
8
Karl Marx
Today, Karl Marx is more perceived as a political and economic figure, but most of his works are primarily philosophical. His scientific, philosophical, socio-humanitarian and economic works were combined in a general term, called Marxism. His theories were so revolutionary that Britain was the only country that agreed to accept Marx. Ever since his studies, he was influenced by Hegel's theories, making judgments about atheism from his teachings. According to one version, Marx's atheism stems from childhood, when his whole family was forced to adopt Christianity so that the head of the family would not lose his job. While working in the editorial office of the magazine, Marx openly spoke out about the inadmissibility of censorship, and also called for the overthrow of the monarchical form of government. The result was his dismissal and closure of the publication.
The German government has repeatedly tried to "appease" Marx by offering him a job in the state structure. The philosopher refused, after which he was forced to leave for Paris under the threat of arrest. It was in the French capital that Marx met Friedrich Engels, who became his companion until the end of his days. After a series of forced relocations, Marx settled in London, where he and Engels wrote most of the works of economic and sociological treatises, including the famous Capital.
The theory of Marx said that capitalism kills humanity, and is an unsuccessful economic system. The philosopher predicted the overthrow of capitalism as a result of the revolt of the working class. It was Engels who drew the attention of Marx to the working class. He noted that capitalism is based on the exploitation of the lower strata by the higher, which does not correspond to the volume of labor. Also, according to Karl Marx, marriage was not only a business contract, which excluded the feeling of the obligation to marry a person. Marxism is one of the few theories of past centuries that has influenced the formation of the modern world.
7
Ludwig Feuerbach
Feuerbach's philosophical activity falls on the middle of the 19th century. In his writings, he relied on the teachings of Hegel, comparing philosophy and religion. Gradually, he came to the theory of the absence of God, while not denying and not condemning religious teachings, considering them a guide to action for enlightening humanity. Feuerbach greatly influenced the atheism of Karl Marx, who attended several of Ludwig's lectures.
The meaning of Feuerbach's theory was to explain religion from the point of view of human history. The philosopher suggested that religion was formed thanks to history, becoming its reflection, and not vice versa. His atheism was not aggressive, the teachings of religion for Feuerbach were correct, but in his opinion humanity could itself come to enlightenment, without religious dogmas. He described the evolution of Feuerbach’s thoughts best of all, declaring that his first thought was God, the second, logic and reason, and the third - man.
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Since Feuerbach did not teach at any of the universities, his lectures during his lifetime were not taken seriously by most representatives of science who preferred to hush up the teachings of the philosopher. Most of the reviews on Ludwig's work were published after his death.
6
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a follower of the theories of Immanuel Kant, being a representative of German classical philosophy. His activity dates back to the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. Fichte's theories are called a kind of conductor between Kant's thoughts and Hegel's ideas. Interestingly, Fichte came to fame precisely thanks to Kant. At 29, he turned to a world-famous philosopher with a request to evaluate one of his works. Kant gave the work a positive review, and helped to publish it. Since the manuscript was printed on behalf of the anonymous author, society decided that it was Kant's own thoughts. The revealed truth made Fichte famous.
In subsequent years, Fichte was accused of atheism, which at that time was considered unacceptable. At the height of the scandals, he left the University of Jena, where he worked as a teacher and moved to Berlin. The works of the philosopher served as the foundation for the founding of German subjective idealism, a movement that taught that the vision of a thing depends more on how we look at it, and not on the nature of the subject. That is, we only see what we focus on ourselves, often ignoring important things. Fichte also formulated an idea called “Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis”. Its meaning is that truth is always in the middle. There is one point of view - the thesis, there is a second - the antithesis, and their synthesis will be true.
5
Max Weber
The activities of Max Weber went far beyond philosophy, he is also known as an outstanding historian, sociologist and economist. His work allowed us to call Weber one of the founders of sociology. In his theories on the economic system and its relations with religion, Weber often entered into a discussion with Karl Marx, arguing that religion had a more important influence on the development of the culture of a particular civilization, which subsequently resulted in changes in the form of management. Weber carefully studied the religions of the peoples of Asia to understand how they influenced the development of the economies of the eastern countries. Max Weber took an active part in the political life of Germany, was one of the founders of the liberal party.
Weber's influence on his contemporaries was so great that he was allowed to develop a constitution for Weimar Germany. In his theories, he linked Protestantism and capitalism, which led to the writing of the work "Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism." The philosopher notes, drawing historical parallels, that almost all capital holders are Protestants. Despite the gradual spread of capitalism to Catholic countries, Weber considered the Reformation to be the key to building capital. In his opinion, the rejection of Christianity meant a departure from capitalism. He also developed the theory of the state monopolizing the use of force, which is confirmed by the further course of history.
4
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a reclusive philosopher who shied away from human society and all kinds of manifestations of emotions. He spent most of his life thinking and reading, although he considered excessive reading useless and even harmful. He argued that in this way, a person reduces his exactingness, preferring to use other people's ideas, rather than scooping them out of his head. The philosopher grew up in a wealthy family, having received primary education in the UK. Schopenhauer considered Immanuel Kant to be his ideological mentor, often criticizing such recognized philosophers as Fichte and Hegel. It is Schopenhauer who is credited with introducing the term “motivation” as an intangible object that drives human actions. Arthur Schopenhauer was a misanthrope and a convinced bachelor. He also had extensive linguistic knowledge, speaking German, French, English, Spanish, Italian and Latin. He suffered various phobias and was careful about his health.
He received the nickname "philosopher of pessimism" for his sayings about the modern world and love. He considered our world “the worst possible”, and he considered love only as a means for procreation. He considered romance important only because of its need for human reproduction. Schopenhauer developed the theory that love leaves a negative imprint on the mind while searching for a partner for reproduction. He considered love to be the result of “unbalanced childhood” - each person is looking for a partner who will complement him, making up for the missing qualities. Schopenhauer considered the goal of each person to be an understanding of happiness, adding that the modern world is aimed at its destruction. The logical conclusion for the philosopher was the denial of the existence of real wealth and happiness as such. His work greatly influenced the activities of such famous people as Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Leo Tolstoy and Richard Wagner. The latter even dedicated one of his operas to Schopenhauer.
3
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant is one of the prominent figures of the Enlightenment, as well as the founder of German classical philosophy. His work was not limited only to philosophy, he published works on physics, zoology, geography and astronomy. He spent his whole life in Konigsberg, including the period when the city was in the power of the Russian Empire. Engaged in teaching, lecturing in many subjects. He was single, claiming that he could not support his wife when he wanted to get married. And when the opportunity arose, there was no desire to marry.
The philosophical activity of Immanuel Kant was mainly focused on ethics and morality. The modest origin did not prevent Kant from becoming the leading philosopher of his era. He wanted European society to be subject to logic and reason, not religion, whose teachings he considered irrational and backward. He believed that we should not perform actions in relation to others contrary to our desires. Now it seems quite logical, but at the time of Kant, the theory was revolutionary. The philosopher also argued that we are not required to show blind kindness to others, but must take into account the peculiarity of their nature. Kant also thought a lot about freedom, claiming that a person is free as long as he acts in his own interests. This distinguishes him from other thinkers who claim that freedom consists in the freedom to do things that we like. Kant's works are easy to understand thanks to the use of a simple language that is not rich in terminology and complex speech turns inherent to philosophers of the Enlightenment.
2
Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche was the sad genius of his time, which marked the era of the transition from religious to logical judgments. Throughout his life, he was seriously ill with various forms of physical and psychological disorders. Most of his judgments were not accepted by society, and he received wide recognition only at the final stage of his activity. Misunderstanding on the part of others has left a serious imprint on the works of the philosopher, which can be seen in the changes in his rhetoric. Admiration for the theories of Kant brought Nietzsche with the outstanding figure of the romantic era Richard Wagner, but their friendship did not last long, ending with a complete break.
Nietzsche's brilliant successes in philology were reflected in his invitation to the post of professor at the University of Basel at the age of 24, which was unimaginable for that time. He was not successful among peers, standing out maturity from an early age. Nietzsche considered envy a positive feeling that motivates a person. It was she, as well as the will to achieve the highest possible position in society, according to Nietzsche, was the main idea of mankind. It is hard to disagree with him, because only ambitious plans give rise to breakthroughs in the field of science and technology. Nietzsche stated that “God is dead! God will not rise! And we are guilty of his death! ”, Which causes a real storm of indignation even now. In fact, the philosopher was not going to "dance on the bones" of a religion that was losing its position. In his dictum, he expressed concern that the morality taught by religion would not be perceived by modern society with atheistic principles.
1
Georg Hegel
Surely many are ready to argue with the first place of Georg Hegel in the list of the greatest philosophers of Germany, however, his activities and opinions will convince all those who disagree. Of course, his theories were quite controversial, and in many respects it is difficult to agree with the philosopher, but the very fact of Hegel’s claims that truth is born only from mistakes makes him a great thinker. His scientific activity covers the period from the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 19th centuries, when Georg taught at a number of German universities. Hegel is considered one of the founders of atheism, which originated in him during his studies at the theological seminary.
One of the theories of the philosopher was that we should learn from our ideological opponents, since often truth is between two opposing opinions. Progress, according to Hegel, lay in the transition from one extreme to the other. He set politics as an example when states developed, moving from right ideologies to left and vice versa, finding the necessary balance. The philosopher appreciated the errors, considering them a transitional stage to the truth. Hegel's pragmatism stood out in the rejection of the search for the ephemeral ideal. Unlike many philosophers, he argued that society already has everything to build a better world, the main thing is to learn how to better manage existing values. The spirit of the time was the most important factor in Hegel’s teachings, on which he constantly emphasized.
Finally
About philosophers, as well as about their works and theories, you can argue endlessly. But we dare to interrupt this article to listen to your opinion about the most prominent German philosophers. Who would you add to this list, and who ended up in it undeservedly. Write your thoughts in the comments to this article.