Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland | |
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 Engraving byJohann Friedrich Müller, after a painting byJ. F. A. Tischbein (1802) | |
| Born | (1762-08-12)12 August 1762 |
| Died | 25 August 1836(1836-08-25) (aged 74) |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, naturopath, writer |
Christoph Wilhelm Friedrich Hufeland (12 August 1762 – 25 August 1836) was a German physician,naturopath and writer. Considered one of the most eminent practical physicians of his time in Germany, he authored numerous works displaying extensive reading and a cultivated critical faculty.
Hufeland was born atLangensalza,Saxony (nowThuringia) and educated atWeimar, where his father held the office of court physician to the grand duchess. In 1780 he entered theUniversity of Jena, and in the following year went on toGöttingen, where in 1783 he graduated inmedicine.
After assisting his father for some years at Weimar, he was called in 1793 to the chair of medicine at Jena, receiving at the same time the positions of court physician and professor ofpathology at Weimar. During this time, he began a substantive correspondence withImmanuel Kant. In 1798Frederick William III of Prussia granted him the position director of the medical college and generally of state medical affairs at theCharité, inBerlin. He filled the chair ofpathology and therapeutics in theUniversity of Berlin, founded in 1809, and in 1810 became councillor of state. In 1823, he was elected a member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
In time he became as famous asGoethe,Herder,Schiller, andWieland in his homeland.
Hufeland was a close friend ofSamuel Hahnemann and published his original writings in his journal in 1796.[1] He also "joined theIlluminati order at this time, having been introduced to freemasonry in Göttingen in 1783."[2] He also seems to have professed an interest inChineseAlchemy and methods of extendinglongevity.[3]
The most widely known of his many writings is the treatise entitledMakrobiotik oder Die Kunst, das menschliche Leben zu verlängern (1796), which was translated into many languages, including in Serbian by Jovan Stejić in Vienna in 1828. Of his practical works, theSystem of Practical Medicine (System der praktischen Heilkunde, 1818–1828) is the most elaborate. From 1795 to 1835, he published aJournal der praktischen Arznei und Wundarzneikunde. Hisautobiography was published in 1863.
Hufeland died on 25 August 1836, inBerlin.
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Hufeland was an early supporter ofnaturopathic medicine who posited the existence of avitalistic "life force", which he believed could be maintained through behavioral and dietary practices.[1][4][5] Hufeland was influenced byHippocrates and promoted what he termed "natural therapeutics" (naturtherapeutik).[1][6] He supported the use ofhomeopathy.[1]
The termmacrobiotics was used by Hufeland in his bookMacrobiotics: The Art of Prolonging Life, that was translated into English in 1797.[7][8][9] The book endorsed a program for good health and prolonging life. Hufeland recommended avegetarian diet.[6][10] Goethe and his wife took interest in the book.[6] His German disciples gave his dieting and health ideas the name of the Hufelandist movement.[11][12]
George Ohsawa, founder of themacrobiotic diet based onyin and yang foods, was influenced by Hufeland.[13]
He first married Juliane Amelung (1771–1845) and married for the second time to Elisabeth Helene Troschel (1777–1862). From his first marriage he had:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hufeland, Christoph Wilhelm".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 856.| International | |
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