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Moritz Lazarus
Moritz Lazarus (15 September 1824 – 13 April 1903), born at Filehne, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, was a German-Jewish philosopher, psychologist, and a vocal opponent of the antisemitism of his time.
He was born at Filehne, Posen. The son of Aaron Levin Lazarus, a pupil of Akiba Eiger, and himself president of the bet din and the yeshiva of Filehne (died there in 1874), he was educated in Hebrew literature and history, and subsequently in law and philosophy at the University of Berlin. In 1850 he obtained his PhD degree; in the same year he married Sarah Lebenheim.
From 1860 to 1866 he was professor in the University of Berne, and subsequently returned to Berlin as professor of philosophy in the Kriegsakademie (1868) and later in the University of Berlin (1873). On the occasion of his seventieth birthday he was honored with the title of Geheimrath. He died in Meran.
The fundamental principle of his philosophy was that truth must be sought not in metaphysical or a priori abstractions but in psychological investigation, and further that this investigation cannot confine itself successfully to the individual consciousness, but must be devoted primarily to society as a whole. The psychologist must study mankind from the historical or comparative standpoint, analysing the elements which constitute the fabric of society, with its customs, its conventions and the main tendencies of its evolution.
This Völkerpsychologie (folk or comparative psychology) is one of the chief developments of the Herbartian theory of philosophy; it is a protest not only against the so-called scientific standpoint of natural philosophers, but also against the individualism of the positivists.
In support of his theory he founded, in combination with Heymann Steinthal, the Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft (1859). His own contributions to this periodical were numerous and important. His chief work was Das Leben der Seele (Berlin, 1855–1857; 3rd ed., 1883). Other philosophical works were: Ueber den Ursprung der Sitten (1860 and 1867), Ueber die Ideen in der Geschichte (1865 and 1872); Zur Lehre von den Sinnestäuschungen (1867); Ideale Fragen (1875 and 1885), Erziehung und Geschichte (1881); Unser Standpunkt (1881); Ueber die Reize des Spiels (1883).
Apart from the great interest of his philosophical work, Lazarus was pre-eminent among the Jews of the so-called Semitic denomination in Germany. Like Heine, Auerbach and Steinthal, he rose superior to the narrower ideals of the German Jews, and took a leading place in German literature and thought. He protested against the violent antisemitism of the time, and, in spite of the moderate tone of his publications, drew upon himself unqualified censure. He wrote in this connection a number of articles collected in 1887 under the title Treu und Frei: Reden und Vorträge über Juden und Judenthum. In 1869 and 1871 he was president of the first and second Jewish synods at Leipzig and Augsburg.
Lazarus' first publication, "Die Sittliche Berechtigung Preussens in Deutschland" (Berlin, 1850), appealed to the public at large. In this book he claimed for Prussia the leadership over the other German states on account of her political, philosophical, and religious superiority. From 1850 Lazarus devoted himself especially to psychology. Applying the laws of the psychology of the individual to the nation and to mankind (for these he considered as social beings), Lazarus established a new branch of research which he termed "Völkerpsychologie" (national psychology). In an article entitled "Ueber den Begriff und die Möglichkeit einer Völkerpsychologie als Wissenschaft" (in Robert Prutz's "Deutsches Museum," 1851) he laid the foundation for the study of this science. Nine years later, in collaboration with Steinthal, his friend and brother-in-law, Lazarus established the "Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft" (vols. i-xx, Berlin, 1860–90; continued as the "Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde"). From 1856 to 1858 he published his principal work, "Das Leben der Seele in Monographien" (3 vols.; 3d ed., 1883–97). It deals with the principal problems of psychology from the standpoint of the philosophy of Herbart. Written in a popular and easy style, it soon found a large circle of readers.
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Moritz Lazarus
Moritz Lazarus (15 September 1824 – 13 April 1903), born at Filehne, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, was a German-Jewish philosopher, psychologist, and a vocal opponent of the antisemitism of his time.
He was born at Filehne, Posen. The son of Aaron Levin Lazarus, a pupil of Akiba Eiger, and himself president of the bet din and the yeshiva of Filehne (died there in 1874), he was educated in Hebrew literature and history, and subsequently in law and philosophy at the University of Berlin. In 1850 he obtained his PhD degree; in the same year he married Sarah Lebenheim.
From 1860 to 1866 he was professor in the University of Berne, and subsequently returned to Berlin as professor of philosophy in the Kriegsakademie (1868) and later in the University of Berlin (1873). On the occasion of his seventieth birthday he was honored with the title of Geheimrath. He died in Meran.
The fundamental principle of his philosophy was that truth must be sought not in metaphysical or a priori abstractions but in psychological investigation, and further that this investigation cannot confine itself successfully to the individual consciousness, but must be devoted primarily to society as a whole. The psychologist must study mankind from the historical or comparative standpoint, analysing the elements which constitute the fabric of society, with its customs, its conventions and the main tendencies of its evolution.
This Völkerpsychologie (folk or comparative psychology) is one of the chief developments of the Herbartian theory of philosophy; it is a protest not only against the so-called scientific standpoint of natural philosophers, but also against the individualism of the positivists.
In support of his theory he founded, in combination with Heymann Steinthal, the Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft (1859). His own contributions to this periodical were numerous and important. His chief work was Das Leben der Seele (Berlin, 1855–1857; 3rd ed., 1883). Other philosophical works were: Ueber den Ursprung der Sitten (1860 and 1867), Ueber die Ideen in der Geschichte (1865 and 1872); Zur Lehre von den Sinnestäuschungen (1867); Ideale Fragen (1875 and 1885), Erziehung und Geschichte (1881); Unser Standpunkt (1881); Ueber die Reize des Spiels (1883).
Apart from the great interest of his philosophical work, Lazarus was pre-eminent among the Jews of the so-called Semitic denomination in Germany. Like Heine, Auerbach and Steinthal, he rose superior to the narrower ideals of the German Jews, and took a leading place in German literature and thought. He protested against the violent antisemitism of the time, and, in spite of the moderate tone of his publications, drew upon himself unqualified censure. He wrote in this connection a number of articles collected in 1887 under the title Treu und Frei: Reden und Vorträge über Juden und Judenthum. In 1869 and 1871 he was president of the first and second Jewish synods at Leipzig and Augsburg.
Lazarus' first publication, "Die Sittliche Berechtigung Preussens in Deutschland" (Berlin, 1850), appealed to the public at large. In this book he claimed for Prussia the leadership over the other German states on account of her political, philosophical, and religious superiority. From 1850 Lazarus devoted himself especially to psychology. Applying the laws of the psychology of the individual to the nation and to mankind (for these he considered as social beings), Lazarus established a new branch of research which he termed "Völkerpsychologie" (national psychology). In an article entitled "Ueber den Begriff und die Möglichkeit einer Völkerpsychologie als Wissenschaft" (in Robert Prutz's "Deutsches Museum," 1851) he laid the foundation for the study of this science. Nine years later, in collaboration with Steinthal, his friend and brother-in-law, Lazarus established the "Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft" (vols. i-xx, Berlin, 1860–90; continued as the "Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde"). From 1856 to 1858 he published his principal work, "Das Leben der Seele in Monographien" (3 vols.; 3d ed., 1883–97). It deals with the principal problems of psychology from the standpoint of the philosophy of Herbart. Written in a popular and easy style, it soon found a large circle of readers.