Ernst Troeltsch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1865-02-17)17 February 1865 |
| Died | 1 February 1923(1923-02-01) (aged 57) |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | |
| Institutions |
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| Notable students | Gertrud von Le Fort Friedrich Gogarten |
| Main interests | |
| Notable ideas | Three principles ofhistoriography (principle of criticism, principle of analogy, principle of correlation) |
Ernst Peter Wilhelm Troeltsch (/trɛltʃ/;[1]German:[tʁœltʃ]; 17 February 1865 – 1 February 1923) was a GermanliberalProtestant theologian, a writer on thephilosophy of religion and thephilosophy of history, and aclassical liberal politician. He was a member of thehistory of religions school. His work was a synthesis of a number of strands, drawing onAlbrecht Ritschl,Max Weber's conception ofsociology, and theBaden school ofneo-Kantianism.
Troeltsch was born on 17 February 1865 into a Lutheran family to a doctor and went to a Catholic school in a predominantly Catholic area. He then attended university, at theUniversity of Erlangen and then at theUniversity of Göttingen. During his university years, he experienced difficulties in his student fraternity as a result of hishomosexuality.[2][3] His ordination in 1889 was followed in 1891 by a post teaching theology at Göttingen. In 1892, he moved on to teach at theUniversity of Bonn. In 1894, he moved on again toHeidelberg University. Finally, in 1915, he transferred to teach at what is now theUniversity of Berlin, where he took the title of professor of philosophy and civilization.[4] Troeltsch died on 1 February 1923. The church historianAdolf von Harnack spoke at his funeral.[5]
Throughout Troeltsch's life, he wrote frequently of his belief that changes in society posed a threat to Christian religion and that "the disenchantment of the world" as described by sociologistMax Weber was underway. At an academic conference that took place in 1896, after a paper on the doctrine ofLogos, Troeltsch responded by saying, "Gentlemen, everything is tottering!"[6] Troeltsch also agreed with Weber'sProtestant work ethic, restating it in hisProtestantism and Progress. He viewed the creation of capitalism as having been the result of the specific Protestant sects named by Weber, rather than as a result of Protestantism as a whole. However, his analysis of Protestantism was more optimistic than Weber's in its focus on religious personal conviction as a source for individualism and spiritual mysticism as a source for subjectivism. Troeltsch interpreted non-Calvinist Protestantism as having had a positive effect on the development of the press, modern education systems, and politics.[7]
His study,The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches (1912), is about the history of Christian social precepts -- as they pertain to culture, economics, and institutions -- in the history of Western Civilization. Troeltsch's distinction between churches and sects as social types, for instance, set the course for further theological study.[8]
Troeltsch sought to explain the decline of religion in the modern era by studying the historical evolution of religion in society. He described European civilization as having three periods:ancient,medieval, andmodern. Instead of claiming that modernity starts with the rise ofProtestantism, Troeltsch argued that early Protestantism should be understood as a continuation of the medieval period. Therefore, the modern period starts later in his account: in the seventeenth century. The Renaissance in Italy and the scientific revolution planted the seeds for the arrival of the modern period. Protestantism delayed, rather than heralded, modernity. The reform movement around Luther, Troeltsch argued, was "in the first place, simply a modification of Catholicism, in which the Catholic formulation of the problems was retained, while a different answer was given to them."[9]
Troeltsch saw the distinction between early and late (or "neo-") Protestantism as "the presupposition for any historical understanding of Protestantism."[10]
Troeltsch developed three principles pertaining to criticalhistoriography. Each of the principles served as a philosophical retort for preconceived notions. Troeltsch's principles (criticism, analogy, correlation) were used to account for historians' biases.[11]
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Troeltsch's claim in the principle concludes that absolutes within history cannot exist. Troeltsch surmised that judgments about the past must be varied. As such, the absolute truth of historical reality could not exist, but he claimed historical situation could be examined as more or less likely to have happened. For Troeltsch, finite and non-revisable historical claims are questionable.
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Historians often think in analogies, which leads them to make anachronistic claims about the past. Troeltsch argued that the probability of analogies cannot usually be validated. He presented human nature as being fairly constant throughout time.
In regard to historical events, Troeltsch determined that humanity's historical life is interdependent upon each individual. Since the cumulative actions of individuals create historical events, there is a causal nature to all events that create an effect. Any radical event, the historian should assume, affected the historical nexus immediately surrounding that event. Troeltsch determines that in historical explanation, it is important to include antecedents and consequences of events in an effort to maintain historical events in their conditioned time and space.[12]
Troeltsch was politically aclassical liberal and served as a member of the Parliament of theGrand Duchy of Baden. In 1918, he joined theGerman Democratic Party (DDP). He strongly supported Germany's role inWorld War I: "Yesterday we took up arms. Listen to theethos that resounds in the splendour of heroism: To your weapons, to your weapons!"[13]
In the immediate aftermath of Troeltsch's death, his work neglected as part of a wider rejection ofliberal thought with the rise ofneo-orthodoxy in Protestant theology, especially with the prominence ofKarl Barth in the German-speaking world. From 1960 onwards, however, Troeltsch's thought has enjoyed a revival. Several books on Troeltsch's theological and sociological work have been published since 2000.[14]
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