Ludwig Gumplowicz

Ludwig Gumplowicz
Born
Polish: Ludwik Gumplowicz

9 March 1838
Died19 August 1909 (1909-08-20) (aged 71)
NationalityPolish
Alma materUniversity of Graz University of Vienna, Austria
Known forSocial Darwinism
Syngenism
Division of labor

Ludwig Gumplowicz (9 March 1838 – 19 August 1909) was a Polish sociologist, jurist, historian, and political scientist, who taught constitutional and administrative law at the University of Graz.[1]

Gumplowicz was the son of a Jewish carpet and porcelain manufacturer, Abraham Gumplowicz. Gumplowicz is considered to be one of the founding fathers of sociology across German-speaking countries. While living under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, he witnessed many violent anti-Semitic conflicts between ethnic groups, which influenced his sociological theories of social conflict and explaining social phenomenas later on in life.[2] His contributions to the fields of social science, political science, and jurisprudence allowed these fields to expand under the lens of Gumplowicz's applications of sociological generalizations. In all three areas, he was a straightforward and vivacious writer who excelled in controversy. He was well known for his skepticism of the permanence of social progress and his belief that the state emerges from inevitable confrontation rather than unity or divine inspiration.

  1. ^ Torrance, John (1976). "The Emergence of Sociology in Austria: 1885-1935". European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie / Europäisches Archiv für Soziologie. 17 (2): 185–219. doi:10.1017/S0003975600007359. ISSN 0003-9756. JSTOR 23998748. S2CID 145285817.
  2. ^ LENHARD, PHILIPP (2012). "Assimilation als Untergang: Ludwig Gumplowicz' Judentum und die Frage des Antisemitismus". Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte. 64 (2): 105–116. doi:10.1163/157007312801604852. ISSN 0044-3441. JSTOR 23898745.