Constantin Brunner
Encyclopedia
Constantin Brunner was the pen-name of the German
Jewish philosopher Arjeh Yehuda Wertheimer (called Leo). He was born in Altona
(near Hamburg
). He came from a prominent Jewish family that had lived in the vicinity of Hamburg for generations; his grandfather, Akiba Wertheimer, was chief Rabbi
of Altona and Schleswig-Holstein
. Brunner studied philosophy under a number of prominent scholars, but never completed his doctorate. He established himself as a literary critic, and enjoyed a wide celebrity. In the 1890s, he withdrew from public life to devote himself to writing. He lived in Germany until 1933, when, with the rise to power of the Nazi party, he moved to The Hague
.
1) Practical reason, which every human possesses, and which serves one’s normal needs
2) Spiritual/intellectual (geistig) thought, which rises above the relative truth residing in experience and in science, and strives toward a perception of the one eternal and absolute essence.
3) "Superstition"—pseudo-contemplation, which is the mode of contemplation of most ordinary men. Unfounded belief is a distortion of the spiritual faculty. While practical reason recognizes that the “relative” is only “relative,” superstition elevates what is relative to the status of the absolute.
Each of the three modes of thought consists of three specificates. In the practical understanding, the specificates are feeling, knowing and willing. In spiritual life, these are modified to become, respectively, art, philosophy and mysticism (love). Superstition distorts the specificates of spiritual life, transforming them into religion, metaphysics and moralism.
Brunner's intention is to contrast popular thought with spiritual/intellectual thought. His work Die Lehre von den Geistigen und vom Volke is a survey of the whole of human intellectual history seen from the point of view of this doctrine.
Brunner's ultimate objective was to prepare the way for the establishment of a community centered on the life of the mind, which would in turn open the way to the expansion of democracy.
is essentially anti-religious, stating in Our Christ that "Judaism as a spiritual doctrine is the opposite of religion and a protest against it", and culminates his argument with his own translation of the Shema
: "Hear O Israel, Being is our god, Being is one". He juxtaposes priestly/pharisaic/rabbinic to prophetic Judaism, stating that the latter represents the true mystical essence in opposition to the former which distorts that essence.
was both a mystic
and a genius
, whereas Christianity
is largely a distortion of his thought .
. However, there is evidence that, toward the end of his life in light of events in Europe, he was reconsidering his opposition to the founding of the state of Israel (see Assimilation und Nationalismus: ein Briefwechsel mit Constantin Brunner / Willy Aron).
which reaches its highest expression in Immanuel Kant
. Thus Spinoza and Kant represent opposite poles in the dialectical idealism by which Brunner organizes the whole of intellectual history.
is a scientific principle that needs to be preserved if meaningful work it to be undertaken with biological systems. He argued that because the theory of evolution undermined the notion of species, it would be detrimental to practical scientific endeavor.
, Martin Buber
, Gustav Landauer
and Lou Andreas-Salome
. Albert Einstein
read Brunner but, while appreciating his critical insight and sharing his devotion to Spinoza
, rejected his philosophy, particularly where it stood opposed to Kant
Brunner attracted a large and devoted following among the Jewish youth in Czernowitz. The best known of his disciples in this group is the poet, Rose Auslander
.
With the Second World War, Brunner's books were burned and his devotees scattered. His German disciple Magdalena Kasch managed to save the bulk of Brunner's writing from destruction by the Nazis. In 1948, she, with the help of some of Brunner's other surviving friends, founded the "Internationaal Constantin Brunner Instituut" (ICBI) in the Hague. However, there has been no major revival of interest in his work, despite the efforts of such luminaries as Yehudi Menuhin
and André Breton
.
There is relatively abundant secondary literature available in English, notably To live is to think : the thought of twentieth-century German philosopher Constantin Brunner by Hans Goetz (1995).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jewish philosopher Arjeh Yehuda Wertheimer (called Leo). He was born in Altona
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
(near Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
). He came from a prominent Jewish family that had lived in the vicinity of Hamburg for generations; his grandfather, Akiba Wertheimer, was chief Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of Altona and Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. Brunner studied philosophy under a number of prominent scholars, but never completed his doctorate. He established himself as a literary critic, and enjoyed a wide celebrity. In the 1890s, he withdrew from public life to devote himself to writing. He lived in Germany until 1933, when, with the rise to power of the Nazi party, he moved to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
Doctrine
Central to Brunner’s theory is the characterization of three different modes of mental activity:1) Practical reason, which every human possesses, and which serves one’s normal needs
2) Spiritual/intellectual (geistig) thought, which rises above the relative truth residing in experience and in science, and strives toward a perception of the one eternal and absolute essence.
3) "Superstition"—pseudo-contemplation, which is the mode of contemplation of most ordinary men. Unfounded belief is a distortion of the spiritual faculty. While practical reason recognizes that the “relative” is only “relative,” superstition elevates what is relative to the status of the absolute.
Each of the three modes of thought consists of three specificates. In the practical understanding, the specificates are feeling, knowing and willing. In spiritual life, these are modified to become, respectively, art, philosophy and mysticism (love). Superstition distorts the specificates of spiritual life, transforming them into religion, metaphysics and moralism.
Brunner's intention is to contrast popular thought with spiritual/intellectual thought. His work Die Lehre von den Geistigen und vom Volke is a survey of the whole of human intellectual history seen from the point of view of this doctrine.
Brunner's ultimate objective was to prepare the way for the establishment of a community centered on the life of the mind, which would in turn open the way to the expansion of democracy.
Brunner and Judaism
The opposition between the spiritual and the religious is a major theme in Brunner's work. He contends that JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
is essentially anti-religious, stating in Our Christ that "Judaism as a spiritual doctrine is the opposite of religion and a protest against it", and culminates his argument with his own translation of the Shema
Shema Yisrael
Shema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...
: "Hear O Israel, Being is our god, Being is one". He juxtaposes priestly/pharisaic/rabbinic to prophetic Judaism, stating that the latter represents the true mystical essence in opposition to the former which distorts that essence.
Brunner and Christianity
For Brunner, JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was both a mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
and a genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
, whereas Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is largely a distortion of his thought .
Brunner and Israel
Throughout his life, Brunner was anti-ZionistAnti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
. However, there is evidence that, toward the end of his life in light of events in Europe, he was reconsidering his opposition to the founding of the state of Israel (see Assimilation und Nationalismus: ein Briefwechsel mit Constantin Brunner / Willy Aron).
Brunner and the history of philosophy
According to Brunner, the authentic philosophy presented by Spinoza has its antithesis in scholasticismScholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
which reaches its highest expression in Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
. Thus Spinoza and Kant represent opposite poles in the dialectical idealism by which Brunner organizes the whole of intellectual history.
Brunner and science
Brunner maintains that the foundation of all science is the doctrine of universal all-motion. Brunner's elaboration of this doctrine has had a decisive impact on a number of medical practitioners and researchers.Brunner and evolution
Brunner's position is that the fixity of speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
is a scientific principle that needs to be preserved if meaningful work it to be undertaken with biological systems. He argued that because the theory of evolution undermined the notion of species, it would be detrimental to practical scientific endeavor.
Influence and relevance
In Confessions of a European Intellectual, Franz Schoenberner describes Brunner as "one of the more important figures" in Europe. Brunner corresponded with Walther RathenauWalther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau was a German Jewish industrialist, politician, writer, and statesman who served as Foreign Minister of Germany during the Weimar Republic...
, Martin Buber
Martin Buber
Martin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
, Gustav Landauer
Gustav Landauer
Gustav Landauer was one of the leading theorists on anarchism in Germany in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. He was an advocate of communist anarchism and an avowed pacifist. Landauer is also known for his study and translations of William Shakespeare's works into German...
and Lou Andreas-Salome
Lou Andreas-Salomé
Lou Andreas-Salomé was a Russian-born psychoanalyst and author. Her diverse intellectual interests led to friendships with a broad array of distinguished western luminaries, including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Rilke.- Early years :Lou Salomé was born in St...
. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
read Brunner but, while appreciating his critical insight and sharing his devotion to Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...
, rejected his philosophy, particularly where it stood opposed to Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
Brunner attracted a large and devoted following among the Jewish youth in Czernowitz. The best known of his disciples in this group is the poet, Rose Auslander
Rose Ausländer
Rose Ausländer , maiden name Rosalie Beatrice Scherzer, was a Jewish German- and English language poet. She was born in Bucovina, and lived in U.S.A, Romania, and Germany....
.
With the Second World War, Brunner's books were burned and his devotees scattered. His German disciple Magdalena Kasch managed to save the bulk of Brunner's writing from destruction by the Nazis. In 1948, she, with the help of some of Brunner's other surviving friends, founded the "Internationaal Constantin Brunner Instituut" (ICBI) in the Hague. However, there has been no major revival of interest in his work, despite the efforts of such luminaries as Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
and André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
.
Brunner in English
Brunner's works available in English include- Science, Spirit, Superstition, which is a compilation of material from his other books. There are extracts from many of Brunner's works, including large sections from Die Lehre von den Geistigen und vom Volk, covering the doctrine and history of science. There are also important sections from Materialismus und Idealismus, a dialogue presentation of Brunner's understanding of philosophy and its history. It includes his writing on a variety of subjects.
- Our Christ. A translation, with an introduction and editorial notes.
- The Tyranny of Hate: The Roots of Antisemitism, an abridgement of one of Brunner's works on antisemitism.
There is relatively abundant secondary literature available in English, notably To live is to think : the thought of twentieth-century German philosopher Constantin Brunner by Hans Goetz (1995).
Brunner in French
Several works by Brunner are available in French. L'amour is the first part of Brunner's work on sexual relationships. Spinoza contre Kant contains Brunner's sketch of the history of modern philosophy. Le malheur de notre peuple allemand et nos « Völkisch » (orig. 1924) warns against the dangers of Nazism. The Sorbonne has an archive of several French translations of Brunner's work by Henri Lurié. There is abundant secondary material in French as well, notably a recent work by Martin Rodan entitled Notre culture européenne, cette inconnue (Peter Lang, 2009).External links
Works online
- Spinoza contra Kant (English).
- Der Judenhass und die Juden (German).