Ludwig Klages

Ludwig Klages
Born(1872-12-10)10 December 1872
Hannover, Prussia, German Empire
Died29 July 1956(1956-07-29) (aged 83)
Kilchberg, Zurich, Switzerland
NationalityGerman
Alma mater
AwardsGoethe Medal for Art and Science (1932)
Era20th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
School
Main interests
Aesthetics, anthropology, classical studies, eroticism, handwriting, intellectual history, metaphysics, philosophy of history, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, poetry, psychology
Notable ideas
Co-founder ofMunich Cosmic Circle
Scientific career
FieldsTheoretical psychology, characterology, chemistry
Institutions
Thesis Attempt at a Synthesis of Menthone[3]  (1901)
Doctoral advisorAlfred Einhorn[3]
Other academic advisorsTheodore Lipps[5]
Influences
Influenced

Friedrich Konrad Eduard Wilhelm Ludwig Klages (10 December 1872 – 29 July 1956) was a German philosopher, psychologist, graphologist, poet, writer, and lecturer, who was a two-time nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature.[11] In the Germanosphere, he is considered one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century.[12] He began his career as a research chemist according to his family's wishes, though soon returned to his passions for poetry, philosophy and classical studies. He held a post at the University of Munich, where in 1905 he founded the Psychodiagnostisches Seminar; the latter was forced to close in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I.[13] In 1915, Klages moved to neutral Switzerland, where over the following decades much of his mature philosophical works were written. Klages died in 1956.[14]

Klages was a central figure of characterological psychology and the Lebensphilosophie school of thought. Prominent elements of his philosophy include: the opposition between life-affirming Seele and life-denying Geist; reality as the on-going creation and interpretation of sensory images, rather than feelings; a biocentric ethics in response to modern ecological issues and militarism;[2] an affirmation of eroticism in critique of both Christian patriarchy and the notion of the "sexual";[15] a theory of psychology focused on expression, including handwriting analysis;[16] and a science of character aimed at reconciling the human ego to the divide it effectuates between living beings.[17] Central to Klages' thought is a linguistic opposition to logocentrism, a term introduced by Klages to diagnose a fixation on language or words to the detriment of the things to which they refer.[18] His formulation of this concept came to be of significant importance to semiotic studies of Western science and philosophy, namely within Derridean deconstruction.[19] Klages is similarly seen as a forebear to critical theory,[20] deep ecology,[2] and existential phenomenology.

Klages' place in modern psychology has been likened to those of his contemporaries Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.[21] His philosophy was roundly attacked by Nazi leaders during the height of his career, though his proximity has since fallen to dispute.[22] Though little of his literary output has historically been available in English, Klages' thought has exhibited sweeping influence on German developments in psychology, psychiatry, literature, and various other disciplines.[23]

  1. ^ Lebovic 2013, p. 9.
  2. ^ a b c Pryce 2013, § Works of maturity.
  3. ^ a b c Bishop 2017, p. 3.
  4. ^ Bishop 2017, p. 6; Stauth & Turner 1992, p. 48.
  5. ^ Lebovic 2013, p. 24.
  6. ^ Bishop 2017, p. 24.
  7. ^ Bishop 2017, p. 78.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Josephson-Storm 2017, pp. 214–215.
  9. ^ Lebovic 2013, p. 87; Wolin 2004, p. 154.
  10. ^ Josephson-Storm 2017, pp. 214–215; Lebovic 2013, p. 75.
  11. ^ White 1967; Britannica n.d.: "Ludwig Klages, (born Dec. 10, 1872, Hannover, Ger.—died July 29, 1956, Kilchberg, near Zürich, Switz.), German psychologist and philosopher, distinguished in the field of characterology."; "Nomination Database: Ludwig Klages". NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  12. ^ L'Agora 2014.
  13. ^ Bishop 2017, pp. 3, 7, 16; Lebovic 2013, p. 24; Stauth & Turner 1992, p. 48; Britannica n.d.: "Educated in chemistry, physics, and philosophy at the University of Munich, where he also taught".
  14. ^ Josephson-Storm 2017, p. 213.
  15. ^ Josephson-Storm 2017.
  16. ^ Lebovic 2013, p. 119.
  17. ^ White 1967: "His most important work was directed toward the formulation of a science of character that would reestablish the undifferentiated union of the life forms that had been ruptured by the emergence of ego in the human species."
  18. ^ Beyler 2015: "Alongside characterology and graphology, Klages's most prominent philosophical theme was the rejection of technical rationality and intellectualized concepts. In other words, opposition to “logocentrism,” a term he coined."; Collins 2014.
  19. ^ Josephson-Storm 2017, p. 221; Lebovic 2013, p. 87.
  20. ^ Josephson-Storm 2017, pp. 20, 209; Stauth & Turner 1992.
  21. ^ Bishop 2017; L'Agora 2014.
  22. ^ Bishop 2017, p. 32: "Difficult, because one of the most commonly heard charges made against Klages is that he sympathized with the National Socialists. As we shall see, however, nothing could be further from the truth."; Pryce 2013, § National Socialist Germany, World War II, and their aftermath; Schlicht 2020.
  23. ^ Bishop 2017, pp. i–xxiii, 91.